WWW.NATURE.COM/NATURE VOL.436 NO.7052 DATED 11 AUGUST 2005
* Genomics: International consortium reports complete rice genome
* A rose by any other colour
[1] Genomics: International consortium reports complete rice genome (pp
793-800)
The most complete genetic sequence of rice to date is presented in this
week's Nature. Previous papers have reported a draft sequence, but an
international consortium has now taken the sequence to finished-quality,
which will make it more useful to scientists and plant breeders looking to
improve rice cultivation.
Arguably the world's most important cereal grain, rice (Oryza sativa) has
been central to human nutrition and culture for the past 10,000 years. This
paper provides a blueprint for all of the rice chromosomes, and the
information can hopefully be harnessed to help feed a rapidly increasing
population under conditions of limited agricultural resources, say the
members of the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project.
Rice is the staple food for more than half of the world's population - with
three billion people dependent on it worldwide, it is important for
scientists to understand rice genetics. According to the United Nations,
rice currently provides 20% of the world's dietary energy supply, with wheat
supplying 19% and maize 5%. In Asia alone, more than two billion people
obtain 60-70% of their calories from rice and rice-derived products.
Representing 30% of global cereal production today, rice production levels
have doubled over the past 30 years. However, current consumption trends
suggest that approximately 4.6 billion people will be reliant on rice crops
by the year 2025, necessitating a further 30% increase in world rice
production to meet projected demands. The completed rice genome sequence and
the gene characteristics now identified will hopefully lead to improvements
in rice production, and will allow for easier study of related cereal
grasses such as maize and sorghum, say the group.
CONTACT
Takuji Sasaki (Institute of the Society for Techno-innovation of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tsukuba, Japan)
Tel: +81 29 838 7406; E-mail: [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
[2] A rose by any other colour (p 791)
The red pigment in roses also makes cornflowers blue. This has puzzled
scientists since its discovery 90 years ago, and has not been fully
explained until now. The secret behind the cornflower's colour, according to
a Brief Communication in this week's Nature, is the arrangement of four
metal ions that are bound to a complex of six molecules each of two
different pigments, which together combine to create a new type of
'supramolecular' pigment that is bright blue.
The colour of red and blue flowers depends on a group of pigments known as
anthocyanins. Blue flowers are usually coloured by delphinidin-type
anthocyanins, but cornflowers contain the rose anthocyanin and another type
of pigment known as a flavone - together called protocyanin. Kosaku Takeda
and colleagues have solved the protocyanin's crystal structure using X-ray
diffraction, enabling them to reconstruct the three-dimensional arrangement
of the complex. They found that it contains an iron and a magnesium ion
strategically placed to give the blue coloration, and two calcium ions to
give it stability.
CONTACT
Kosaku Takeda (Tokyo Gakugei University, Tokyo, Japan)
Tel: +81 42 544 6739; E-mail: [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
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