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29 January 2009
Sheffield scientists research rice potential
Researchers from the University of Sheffield are involved in an ambitious project led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, looking into a new, higher-yielding rice plant that could ease the threat of hunger for the poor.
Currently, more than a billion people worldwide live on less than a dollar a day and nearly one billion live in hunger. Over the next 50 years, the population of the world will increase by about 50% and water scarcity will grow. About half of the world´s population consumes rice as a staple cereal, so boosting its productivity is crucial to achieving long-term food security. IRRI is leading the effort to achieve a major increase in global rice production by using modern molecular tools to develop a more efficient and higher-yielding form of rice.
Photosynthesis, the process by which plants use solar energy to capture carbon dioxide and convert it into the carbohydrates required for growth, is not the same for all plants. Some species, including rice, have a mode of photosynthesis (known as C3) in which the capture of carbon dioxide is relatively inefficient. Other plants, such as maize and sorghum, have evolved a much more efficient form of photosynthesis known as C4.
A project to improve photosynthesis in rice by introducing C4 photosynthesis has received a grant of US$11 million over 3 years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As a result of research into the re-engineering of photosynthesis in rice being conducted by this group, rice plants that can produce 50% more grain using less fertilizer and less water will be brought a step closer to reality.
Professor Richard Leegood, from the University´s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, will be directing a research team at IRRI as well as research in Sheffield and Professor Peter Horton, from the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, will be a member of the international advisory board for the C4 project.
Professor Peter Horton has collaborated with the IRRI on improving rice photosynthesis for over 15 years. He commented: "This project is very exciting and I feel very privileged to be part of such an important step into the future."
Professor Richard Leegood´s teams will work on the biochemistry of C4 photosynthesis. He added: "The University of Sheffield has a long-standing, worldwide reputation in photosynthesis research, therefore it is fantastic that we are involved with such an innovative research and development project."
The C4 Rice Consortium combines the strengths of a range of partners, including molecular biologists, geneticists, physiologists, biochemists, and mathematicians, representing leading research organizations worldwide. Members include Yale, Cornell, Florida, and Washington State universities in the United States; Oxford, Cambridge, Dundee, Nottingham, and Sheffield universities in Britain; the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australian National University, and James Cook University in Australia; Heinrich Heine University and the Institute for Biology in Germany; Jiangsu Academy in China; the University of Toronto in Canada; and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
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