Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced a $5 million grant to support research to improve rice crops by using new genomic- based tools. The multidisciplinary team includes 14 institutions and will be coordinated by scientists at the University of Arkansas.

"USDA is committed to unlocking the benefits of genome research," said Veneman. "This grant will support critical research to better understand the genetic makeup of rice with the goal of improving milling quality and resistance to sheath blight disease."

"The final product of this grant should lead to development of improved U.S. rice cultivars, and the building of a community of researchers trained in the application of new genomics-based tools to address the issue of quantitative inheritance in rice," said Joseph J. Jen, USDA undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics.

Included in this project will be a novel extension program to engage rice extension and industry personnel in agricultural genomics research and to explore the potential of the technology. Extension personnel will also educate the public on the merits of applying genome information to improve agricultural crops.

Funding for the research was provided by USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service's (CSREES) National Research Initiative.

For more information about the genome project, see http://www.uark.edu/ua/ricecap. 

The 14 institutions involved in the project include: the Univ. of Arkansas, USDA- Agricultural Research Service, Univ. of California- Berkeley, Kansas State University, University of Missouri, Louisiana State University, University of California-Davis, Ohio State University, Colorado State University, Noble Foundation in Oklahoma, California Rice Research Foundation, International Rice Research Institute (The Philippines), and Cornell University.

Little Rock, Arkansas
December 13, 2004

University of Arkansas leads multi-state rice biotechnology research project

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced a $5 million USDA grant for a multi-state rice biotechnology research project to be led by the University of Arkansas System’s Division of Agriculture.

The press release announcement by Veneman was released to coincide with a morning press conference at the U of A System headquarters in Little Rock where UA Vice President for Agriculture Milo Shult and others explained the significance of the project to the Arkansas rice industry.

“Rice was chosen for this major plant biotechnology award because it is an immensely important crop in the U.S. and internationally,” Shult said. Arkansas produces about half of the rice grown in the United States.

Dr. Colleen Hefferan of the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) said at the press conference that Arkansas Division of Agriculture scientists are respected worldwide for their expertise in rice research and extension.

“A major factor in the selection of the U of A Division of Agriculture to lead this project was the excellent research and extension infrastructure here and strong rice industry support for research and extension efforts,” Heffernan said.

Shult said support from rice growers through the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board, major processors such as Riceland Foods and Producer’s Rice Mill, and the Arkansas Biotechnology Institute have helped the UA Division of Agriculture develop a rice research and extension program that can compete successfully for major federal grants.

The project title is “A coordinated research, education and extension project for the application of genomic discoveries to improve rice in the United States.”

The $5 million, four-year grant from the CSREES National Research Initiative competitive grants program will involve scientists and extension staff at 14 universities and USDA labs in 11 states, Veneman said.

Joseph Jen, USDA undersecretary for research, education and extension, said the project will help provide “a community of researchers trained in the application of new genomics-based tools.”

Heffernan said the USDA and Japan collaborated on mapping the rice genome, or genetic blueprint. She said this project will provide genomics-based tools that can be used by conventional plant breeders and others to develop better rice varieties.

Heffernan said specific goals are to increase rice milling yield and resistance to sheath blight, which is a major disease of rice. This is to be done not by genetic engineering, but by conventional plant breeders using new knowledge about the genetic blueprint of the rice plant, she said.

Dr. Jim Correll, a Division of Agriculture plant pathologist and UA professor on the Fayetteville campus, is project leader. He said milling yield and resistance to sheath blight have been difficult to improve through conventional breeding techniques.

“The project aims to develop a set of biotechnology-based tools that will allow traditional rice breeders to solve problems that they have been unable to adequately address in the past,” Correll said.

The rice genome, or DNA genetic code, is composed of approximately 50,000 genes that control all plant traits including yield and pest resistance, Correll said. The gene sequence information is now available to rice researchers worldwide.

“To effectively utilize this valuable resource, rice researchers need to begin to understand the function of these genes and how they impart economically valuable attributes to commercial rice,” Correll said.

Correll said the project will include education and extension efforts to inform rice scientists, producers, processors and consumers about the potential benefits of the effort.

“The project will advance the usefulness of the biotechnology information available for rice, train traditional rice breeders in biotechnology based tools, and educate a broader audience on the merits of such an approach to improve rice cultivars,” Correll said.

An advisory board of internationally renowned molecular biologists and rice industry leaders will help guide the course of the project, Correll said.

Research institutions involved in the project include the U of A Division of Agriculture, Kansas State University, Colorado State University, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Missouri-Columbia, the Louisiana State University, the University of California-Davis, the Ohio State University, the California Rice Research Foundation, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and USDA/ARS labs in Stuttgart, Ark., Beaumont, Texas and Madison, Wisc.

Researchers and Cooperative Extension Service specialists from the U of A Division of Agriculture, University of California, University of Florida, Mississippi State University, Louisiana State University, Texas A and M, University of Missouri and the USDA/ARS will conduct outreach and education efforts.

More information can be found at the RiceCAP Web site: http://www.uark.edu/ua/ricecap/.