GENETIC-ENGINEERING OF INDICA RICE IN SUPPORT OF SUSTAINED PRODUCTIONOF AFFORDABLE AND HIGH-QUALITY FOOD IN DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES

Indica-type rice provides the staple food for two billion people in Th ird World countries. Several problems involved in the stable and susta ined production of high quality food cannot be solved by traditional b reeding. Methods have been established for gene transfer to Indica ric e breeding lines to study possible contributions from genetic engineer ing. Experiments are in progress on the development of transgenic resi stance towards Yellow Stem Borer, resistance towards Rice Tungro Virus , accumulation of provitamin A in the endosperm, increase of essential amino acids in the endosperm such as lysine, cysteine and methionine and resistance towards fungal pests such as Rice Blast and Sheath Blig ht. Transgenic clones from Indica rice breeding lines have been recove red from several of the approaches mentioned, some of which have been regenerated to plants.