Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

A newsletter for faculty, staff and students

January-February 2005 • Vol. 31, No. 1

U of A leads rice biotechnology research project

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced December 13 a $5 million USDA grant for a multi-state rice biotechnology project to be led by the U of A Division of Agriculture. The project is knows as RiceCAP, a USDA Coordinated Agricultural Project for the application of genomic discoveries to improve rice in the United States.

The news release announcement by Veneman coincided with a press conference at the U of A System headquarters in Little Rock where 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. Colien Hefferan

Dr. Colien 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,” Hefferan 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.”

Hefferan 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.

Hefferan 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.

RiceCAP Impact — (from left) Dr. Jim Correll, Dr. Milo Shult and George Dunklin of Stuttgart, chairman of the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board, discuss the potential impact of the RiceCAP project for producers.

Dr. Jim Correll, Department of Plant  Pathology, 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/.