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Golden Rice. Emily Wong June.10.2009 Botany. Introduction. Golden rice is a variety of Oryza sativa rice produced from genetic engineering Biofortification-noun. The creation of plants that make or accumulate micronutrients
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Golden Rice Emily Wong June.10.2009 Botany
Introduction • Golden rice is a variety of Oryza sativa rice produced from genetic engineering • Biofortification-noun. The creation of plants that make or accumulate micronutrients • Main purpose is to provide pro-vitamin A to third world, developing, countries where malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency are common
Classification of Oryza sativa • Common Name: Asian Rice • Kingdom: Plantae • Phylum: Anthophyta • Monocot • Class: Commelinids • Order: Poales • Family: Poaceae • Genus: Oryza • Species: O. sativa • Binomial Nomenclature: Oryza sativa
How to Cultivate Rice • Warm regions. Moist, loose soil. Minimum 10°C • Sowing. Seeds are sowed in a nursery or greenhouse, where specific amounts of sunlight and water is given • Sprouting. Seeds germinate after 2 weeks • Planting. Seedlings are transplanted to an irrigated field where the water is ankle deep • Weeding. Hand labor or chemicals are used to prevent pests and weeds from invasion. Water is drained when the plants flower and become mature. • Harvesting. Separate the grains from the stalks by hand, machine, etc. • Milling. The hull, or outer layering of the rice is removed to create polished white rice. Otherwise, the grains will become rancid during storage, called brown rice
Why Rice? • Other plants, such as sweet potatoes have varieties that are either rich (orange-fleshed) or poor (white fleshed) in pro-vitamin A • Carrots were originally white or purple in the 1600’s. A Dutch horticulturist mutated the carrot to produce carotenes to symbolize the color of the Dutch Royal House of Orange • Global staple food. Cultivated for over 10,000 years • Rice provides as much as 80 percent or more of the daily caloric intake of 3 billion people, which is half the world’s population
Who Began the Golden Rice Project? • Started in 1982 by Ingo Potrykus-Professor emeritus of the Institute for Plant Sciences • Peter Beyer-Professor of Centre for Applied Biosciences, Uni. Of Freiburg, Germany • Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and Syngenta, a crop protection company. • Golden Rice Humanitarian Board-responsible for the global development, introduction and free distribution of Golden Rice to target countries.
Effects of Malnutrition • Symptoms of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) include; night blindness, increased susceptibility to infection and cancer, anemia (lack of red blood cells or hemoglobin), deterioration of the eye tissue, and cardiovascular disease • Nearly 9 million children die from malnutrition each year. A large proportion of those children die from common illnesses that could have been avoided through adequate nutrition • The reduced immune competence increases the morbidity and mortality rates of children
Goals: More is What We Aim For • Mutate rice plants to produce carotenoids, or organic pigments, specifically β-carotene (pro-vitamin A) in the endosperm, the edible part of the grain • Make Golden Rice accessible locally, free of charge to farmers, who are able to grow, save, consume, replant and locally sell Golden Rice Vitamin A (Retinol)
How Does It Work? • The addition of 2 genes in the rice genome will complete the biosynthetic pathway • 1. Phytoenesynthase (psy) – derived from daffodils • 2. Lycopenecyclase (crt1) – from soil bacteria Erwiniauredovora • Produces enzymes and catalysts for the biosynthesis of carotenoids (β-carotene) in the endosperm • Presence of pro-vitamin A gives rice grains a yellowish-orange color, thus, the name ‘Golden Rice’
Controversy Against “Fool’s Gold” • Health • May cause allergies or fail to perform desired effect • Supply does not provide a substantial quantity as the recommended daily intake • Environment • Loss of Biodiversity. May become a gregarious weed and endanger the existence of natural rice plants • Genetic contamination of natural, global staple foods • Culture • Some people prefer to cultivate and eat only white rice based on traditional values and spiritual beliefs
Works Cited "Cultivating Rice." InDepthInfo: Information Delivered In-Depth. 2009. 09 June 2009 <http://www.indepthinfo.com/rice/cultivation.htm>. "Failures of Golden Rice | Greenpeace International." Greenpeace | Greenpeace USA. 16 Mar. 2005. 09 June 2009 <http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/failures-of-golden-rice>. "Golden Rice is Part of the Solution." Golden Rice Project Home Page. 2009. 09 June 2009 <http://www.goldenrice.org/>. Sanday, Peggy R. "Eggi's Village: Rice Cycle." School of Arts&Sciences - University of Pennsylvania. 09 June 2009 <http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~psanday/eggiricecycle.html>.