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? 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 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

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. Phytoene synthase (psy) – derived from daffodils 2. Lycopene cyclase (crt1) – from soil bacteria Erwinia uredovora 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>.