Scientists Develop Multi-resistant and High-yield Rice Variety

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports that up to 40% of crop production is lost due to plant pests and diseases. The challenges brought about by pests demand better breeding techniques to develop varieties with increased resistance to pests and herbicides. The study published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal demonstrates the use of multigene transformation and gene editing in developing a multi-resistant and high-yield (MR&HY) rice.

The researchers used a multi-gene transformation strategy to incorporate multiple resistance genes into rice. Six resistance genes, including herbicide resistance gene I. variabilis-EPSPS, brown planthopper resistance genes Bph14 and OsLecRK1, borer resistance gene Cry1C, bacterial blight resistance gene Xa23, and blast resistance gene Pi9, and CRISPR-Cas9 vector targeting Ehd1 (Cas9-Ehd1) were used in the study.

The MR&HY rice demonstrated resistance to herbicide (glyphosate), pests (brown planthopper and stem borer), and diseases (bacterial blight and blast) while observing a significant increase in yield. Field experiments indicated that MR&HY rice, cultivated without pesticides, yielded 20% more than ZH11 rice treated with pesticides and almost three times more than untreated ZH11 rice. This approach reduces the need for pesticides and environmental pollution while lowering production costs.

For more information, read the article from Plant Biotechnology Journal.