Taiwan scientists identify flood-tolerant gene in rice

October 11, 2009
This photos shows rice growing from bio-engineered soil aimed at enhancing its productivity at a trade show in July 2009

Enlarge

This photos shows rice growing from bio-engineered soil aimed at enhancing its productivity at a trade show in Taipei in July 2009. A Taiwanese scientist has said her research team has found the gene that allows rice to grow under water and believes the breakthrough could help develop other flood-resistant crops.

A Taiwanese scientist has said her research team has found the gene that allows rice to grow under water and believes the breakthrough could help develop other flood-resistant crops.

The gene, named CIPK15, a type of enzyme, "allows seedlings to survive and continue to grow even when submerged in water," said Yu Su-mei, a research fellow at the Institute of Molecular Biology at Taiwan's Academia Sinica.

Yu said she believed the discovery would help breeders generate new rice varieties with greater seedling growth under flood-water, which would save on labour and use of pesticides, potentially benefiting the environment.

The study was published in the current issue of the Washington-based journal Science Signaling.

(c) 2009 AFP

4.7 /5 (3 votes)  

Rank 4.7 /5 (3 votes)
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • Factors affecting beet root cell membrane
    created17 hours ago
  • Stem cell question.
    createdFeb 10, 2012
  • Protease cleavage
    createdFeb 10, 2012
  • Pertubance in a model
    createdFeb 10, 2012
  • Cancer drugs and Alzheimer's, Oh my!
    createdFeb 09, 2012
  • Squishing cells
    createdFeb 09, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - Biology

More news stories

A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell

Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created 14 hours ago | popularity 4.5 / 5 (22) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers find extensive RNA editing in human transcriptome

In a new study published online in Nature Biotechnology, researchers from BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, reported the evidence of extensive RNA editing in a human cell line by analysis of RNA-seq data, demons ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created 14 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

The proteins ensuring genome protection

Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have discovered the crucial role of two proteins in developing a cell 'anti-enzyme shield'. This protection system, which operates at the level of molecular ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created 14 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Entire genome of extinct human decoded from fossil

(PhysOrg.com) -- In 2010, Svante Pääbo and his colleagues presented a draft version of the genome from a small fragment of a human finger bone discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. The ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 07, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (60) | comments 51 | with audio podcast

Why are there so few fish in the Earth's oceans?

(PhysOrg.com) -- A Stony Brook University researcher has found that, contrary to popular belief, there are not plenty of fish in the sea.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (19) | comments 27 | with audio podcast


Japan's Fukushima reactor may be reheating: operator

Temperature readings at one of the crippled Fukushima nuclear reactors have risen above Japan's stringent new safety standard but there was no immediate danger, its operator said Sunday.

Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy

For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...

New method to examine batteries -- MRI from the inside

There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived ...

Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon

(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...

Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact

Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.

Starve a virus, feed a cure? Findings show how some cells protect themselves against HIV

A protein that protects some of our immune cells from the most common and virulent form of HIV works by starving the virus of the molecular building blocks that it needs to replicate, according to research published online ...