AfricaRice Center (AfricaRice) has launched a project that will identify and
harness high-value genes from African rice, Oryza glaberrima. Supported by
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the project "Rapid mobilization of
alleles for rice cultivar improvement in sub-Saharan Africa" will develop
new rice varieties that can cope with the increasing challenges of drought,
flooding, and soil-related constraints such as iron toxicity. AfricaRice's
collection of more than 2,000 samples of this native African rice species
will be used in the project.

As an initial step, genes related to iron tolerance, drought tolerance, and
anaerobic germination will be identified. The genes will then be
incorporated into commercially valuable rice varieties without losing useful
characteristics which make them popular with farmers. The five-year project
will be implemented by AfricaRice together with the National Institute of
Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS) in Japan, Cornell University in the United
States, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines,
and the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) in Nigeria.

[africarice.wordpress.com]