Two Companies Sequence Rice Genome
Z U R I C H, Switzerland, Jan. 26 -- Syngenta International AGannounced today that it and collaborative partner MyriadGenetics Inc. have mapped the rice genome, an advancementSyngenta claims will make crops more resistant to pests and disease.
It is "an immensely exciting enterprise with hugeimplications," David Evans, head of Syngenta research andtechnology, told journalists in a conference call.
He said the findings were significant not only for rice, butalso for other important crops.
"We can make them more abundant, change the constitution tomake them more nutritious, [and get] higher yields," Evans said,adding the advance also would have benefits for the foodprocessing industry.
It will also lead to new ways to protect crops from pestsand diseases, he said.
Five-Year Wait
Evans told journalists that it will be five years before thefirst revenues from new seeds that will be produced as a resultof the new rice genome developments.
A genome contains the basic information that makes up livingorganisms encoded in chromosomes made up of double-strandedchains of DNA. The rice genome was discovered after tests atTorrey Mesa Research Institute in California.
Syngenta spokesman Juerg Eberle said earlier that it is thefirst time a genome has been mapped for a commercial food crop.The rice genome is the second-largest genome sequenced, afterthe human genome, he said.
"Because of the similarity between different cereal cropplants, the information derived from rice will contribute to thestudy of other important cereals such as wheat [and] corn, andlead to their future improvement," Eberle said.
The discovery will not have an immediate impact onSyngenta's business. But Eberle said the news confirmed thatSyngenta was on the right track with its focus on research.
Eric Bernhardt, a fund manager at Swiss-based Clariden Bank,said the rice genome development was also good news forSyngenta's partner, Myriad. Clariden's Biotech Equity Fund has astake in Myriad.
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