Prelims: Current events of national and international importance| Sustainable Development
Why in news?
Recently scientists from China have assembled the first pangenome for Asian rice.
- Pangenome – It is a comprehensive genetic blueprint of a species that includes,
- Core genes, which is common to all individuals in a species.
- Accessory or unique genes present in some, but not all, varieties.
- It shows the complete genetic diversity within a species.
- First pangenome of Asian rice – It is created by analysing genomes from 144 varieties of wild and cultivated rice from Asia.
- Evolutionary Findings – The study reinforced the hypothesis that all Asian cultivated rice originated from a wild variety called Or-IIIa (ancestor of japonica).
- Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) was domesticated from its wild progenitor O. rufipogon.
- About 20% of genes are unique to wild rice, which has traits that can improve resilience and yield.
Significance
- Crop Improvement - It enables development of new rice cultivars with Higher yield, Drought and heat resistance, Disease and pest tolerance.
- Climate Adaptation - It helps address climate-related risks such as reduced productivity due to rising temperatures and arsenic uptake in rice grains.
- It is essential in countries like India, which is already witnessing a 0.7°C rise in average temperature since 1901.
- Sustainable Agriculture – The wild rice genes can improve environmental adaptability, regeneration potential, and Genetic diversity in modern rice breeding programs.
- ICAR recently announced development of two genome-edited rice varieties (Samba Mahsuri and MTU 1010) with higher yields and better drought resistance.
- The pangenomic data will accelerate India’s efforts in crop biotechnology.
Reference
The Hindu| First Pangenome for Asian Rice
