Crop varieties can be improved through the study of genomics without
creating genetically transformed varieties.

That is the mission of a multi-state research project led by the University
of Arkansas System's Division of Agriculture.

RiceCAP, or Rice Coordinated Agricultural Project, is funded by a $5 million
grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jim Correll, a Division of
Agriculture professor of plant pathology, coordinates projects by 25
principal investigators in 12 states, the International Rice Research
Institute in The Philippines and the International Center for Tropical
Agriculture in Columbia.

"Genomics is the study of the coded information about an organism stored in
its DNA," Correll says. "The RiceCAP project is conducting genomics research
to develop news tools for conventional plant breeders."

RiceCAP also has an educational and outreach mission, and has produced a
five-minute video podcast that provides an overview of the project. The
podcast is on the RiceCAP Web site at www.ricecap.uark.edu

Plant breeding, as practiced since the 19th century, is the process of
crossbreeding plants to develop an improved variety. The process can take
seven to 10 years from the first cross of parent plants to the release of an
improved variety. The U of A Division of Agriculture has one of the nation's
leading rice breeding programs based at the Rice Research and Extension
Center near Stuttgart.

Breeders now use genetic markers identified through genomics research to
speed up the process. Markers reveal the presence of genetic material linked
to a particular genetic trait, which allows breeders to more efficiently
screen plants for crossbreeding.

"Markers are genomic tools, but that doesn't mean we are developing
genetically engineered rice varieties," Correll says. That point is
important, because many export customers for Arkansas rice will not accept
genetically engineered rice, he says.

RiceCAP is focused on two genetic traits that have been difficult for
breeders to improve -- resistance of rice plants to the fungal disease
sheath blight and milling yield, or the portion of rice kernels that remain
whole after milling. Both are difficult problems because they are controlled
by environmental factors as well as genetics and because they involve
multiple genes, Correll says.

As they identify new markers for use by plant breeders, RiceCAP scientists
are also increasing the understanding of the genomics of rice in general and
sheath blight resistance and milling yield in particular, Correll says.

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