Endowed chair Rod Wing takes aim at world hunger

http://arizonaalumni.com/article/genome-genius

http://tucson.com/news/science/ua-res ... 50-8315-e040ebc78cb9.html

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Miracle Rice (IR-8) the Arizona Genomics Institute (AGI) (www.genome.arizona.edu) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (www.irri.org) is proud to release* a reference genome assembly of IR-8 using PacBio RSII sequencing technology.

This work was funded by the AXA Research Fund to R.A.W. through IRRI.

(*Please note that our GenBank submission (MPPV00000000) is released under the Ft. Lauderdale agreement whereby the AGI/IRRI team reserves the right to publish a detailed analysis of the IR-8 in a forthcoming publication.)

Lee Allen, Contributing Writer

It’s almost universally agreed that a perfect storm is developing and agriculture faces a gargantuan task - feeding the world’s population expected to approach the 10 billion mark by 2050.

And if that’s doable, the challenge is how to accomplish this while wrestling with variables including less land, water, farmer numbers, plus the impact of climate change.

The Arizona Genomics Institute (AGI) reports, “With increasing competition for land, water, and other resources, breeders must develop the next generation of crops that have less negative environmental impact and fewer input requirements.”

The Institute, based in Tucson adds, “Crops will be needed that grow with less water, fertilizer, pesticides, on poorer soils, and with less labor - and still produce high-yielding and highly-nutritious foods.”

The Rice Transposable Element database (RiTE-db) collects repeated sequences and transposable elements (TEs) of several species of the Oryza (rice) genus, and the closely-related Leersia perrieri. In the current version, it contains more than 260,000 characterized sequences, of which 110,000 are full-length elements. Sequences can be browsed and downloaded, and all datasets are usable for remote Blast. All sequences can be used for scientific research upon citation of the source; the database is available at www.genome.arizona.edu/rite/

Rice will remain the primary source of food for half of the world, but the world's population is expected to grow by more than two billion in the next 35 years.


Rod Wing explains the rice genome for the specific genus Oryza and how this information will lead to better crops and more food production for growing populations. (Photo: Christina Close/BIO5 Institute)
http://uanews.org/story/ua-s-rice-sym ... m-tackles-people-question

An international team of researchers led by the University of Arizona has sequenced the complete genome of African rice.

The genetic information will enhance scientists' and agriculturalists' understanding of the growing patterns of African rice, as well as enable the development of new rice varieties that are better able to cope with increasing environmental stressors to help solve global hunger challenges.

Traditional rice varieties encompass a huge range of potentially valuable genes. These can be used to develop superior varieties for farmers to take part in the uphill battle of feeding an ever-increasing world population (estimated to reach 9.6 billion by 2050). The genes linked to valuable traits can help breeders create new rice varieties that have improved yield potential, higher nutritional quality, better ability to grow in problem soils, and improved tolerance of pests, diseases, and the stresses, such as flood and drought, that will be inevitable with future climate change.


More details: http://irri.org/rice-today/dawn-of-a-new-era-in-rice-improvement

Oryza glaberrima genome sequence release announcement

We are pleased to announce the initial release of the Oryza glaberrima genome from the Arizona Genomics Institute and the Rounsley Lab. O. glaberrima is a west African species of cultivated rice that was domesticated independently of Asian rice (O. sativa ssp. japonica and indica) about 3,500 years ago.O. glaberrima contains many important adaptive traits for cultivation in African soils and climates. The specific strain sequenced (IRGC accession # 96717 [variety name CG14]) is the parent used for the development of the new rice for African (NERICA) lines that revolutionized rice cultivation in Africa.

A swamp in remote far north Queensland isn't the place you'd expect to find the key to feeding the world.

But scientists are hoping that wild rice growing in the far north, untouched by human cultivation, holds untapped genetic traits like pest and disease resistance.

Professor Rod Wing, from the University of Arizona, says he never expected to be so excited sitting in a bird-spotting shelter in the middle of a swamp.

"It is a remarkable place to be, and it is funny, I think most people would just walk by and they wouldn't even notice that there's wild rice here, but there is," he said.

"The wild relatives of rice contain a virtually untapped reservoir of genes that could be used for crop improvement."

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-06/wild-rice-trials/4939038

Audio: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-06 ... -rice-feeds-world/4940042