Revolutionary rice
To make their revolutionary rice, scientists looked at genes in flood-resistant plants. After careful searching, they found a group of genes that are responsive to a hormone called ethylene. Ethylene affects how plants react to environmental stress and builds up in flooded rice plants. One gene amongst this group - Sub1A - can make a plant water resistant.
Using a technique called molecular marker technology, scientists could pinpoint the precise location of Sub1A in a plant's DNA.
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Image: International Rice Research Institute |
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