An international team of researchers has sequenced the complete genome of
African rice Oryza glaberrima. This new development will enable scientists
to develop new rice varieties that are better able to cope with increasing
environmental stresses to help solve global hunger challenges.

The research effort was led by Rod Wing, director of the Genomics Institute
at the University of Arizona. "Rice feeds half the world, making it the most
important food crop," Wing said. He added that the African rice genome is
important because many of the genes code for traits that make African rice
resistant to environmental stress, such as drought, salinity, and flooding.

The genetic information will enhance understanding of the growing patterns
of African rice, and will allow scientists to search for ways to cross Asian
and African species to develop new varieties of rice.

The results of the sequencing project were published in an open-access paper
by Nature Genetics (doi:10.1038/ng.3044).

[uanews.org]