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Transgenic Rice Plants Overexpressing Certain Proteins Show Enhanced Grain Size
Field
Transgenic Plants
Patent
IP00732

Key Problem and Market Opportunity

  • Rice is considered the most important food crop, acting as a daily necessity for more than three billion people globally, and of all cereals, rice has the second largest production after maize.
  • In 2014, rice was cultivated on ~162 million hectares, and in 2016/2017, over 43 million tons were traded worldwide.
  • From 1966 to 2000, rice production rose by 130%, but to satisfy the expansion of the global population, it must be further enhanced to 852 million tons by 2035.
  • Although, there has been some research to identify genes that can improve the grain size and weight, however, none of them can simultaneously increase both.
  • Therefore, identification of a gene that when overexpressed can increase the grain size and weight in rice would represent a significant advancement. 

Key Advantages of the Technology

Technology Section Slider 1
  • The current technology describes a method of increasing grain size, weight, and/or lipid content in grain bran or whole seed, in a plant, by upregulating expression of an certain gene in the plant.
  • It’s overexpression enhances the grain size both in length and width by ~10%.
  • It further improves the nutritional value by 10% by increasing the lipid content in rice bran and whole seed.

Potential Product and Services

  • Provide vectors that enhance grain size and weight, in transgenic plants and plant material
  • Provide transgenic plant and plant material with enhanced grain size and weight.
  • Provide methods for screening for genes that enhance grain size and weight, in plants

Development Status and IP Strength

  • PCT application no PCT/CN2017/113489

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