Local Vietnam Rice Genomes Improve Crop Resilience, Withstands Climate Change

Experts from Earlham Institute are among the international collaborators of genebanks and rice breeders in Vietnam.The group is promoted by the International Rice Research Institute or IRRI to end world hunger and cut the poverty line of middle to low-income countries. Recently, the institutes conducted research that aims to specify the right, resilient varieties that can withstand the impending changes in Earth's climate.

The data gathered by the team from the genes that they have generated from the research will be an important key to backup breed survivability of rice crops to the extent of being globally available, reports Science Daily.

Vietnam Agriculture's Rice Genome

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Vietnam has the perfect regions to conduct the study. The country is placed in strategic geography suited for growing rice. The biodiversity and range of ecosystems prove that the rice crops from which the country produces will be sustainable in the future.

Like other Southeast Asian neighbors, Vietnam's rice production is among the largest industry in the country. SEA countries including Vietnam commonly have rice as a daily food staple and export commodity. Almost 70 million people are eating rice daily in Vietnam alone, having the crop as part of healthy diet maintenance that serves as a cheap carbohydrate. Rice consumers across other countries, especially in the western countries where there aren't many rice crops, are increasing in numbers.

Among the biggest challenges, we face today is climate change. What's worse, is that it also targets rice availability. The crisis puts the world's most affordable sustenance by targeting the ecosystems in regions that grow the crops, including Vietnam.

Most poverty-stricken countries that heavily rely on the crop are not excluded from the impending threat of climate change. And with the current pandemic, the disruption of food security intensifies.

The agriculture experts analyzed almost 700 rice genomes from Vietnam to determine the potential of the native crop. Among the variants of rice data, more than 600 are already confirmed to be sequenced, as shown as well in a previous report by PhysOrg.

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I5 Indica, Green Super Rice to Sustain Global Food Demand and Withstand Climate Change

The team discovered I5 Indica, a huge rice subpopulation that was overlooked. Until the initial study published in the journal Springer entitled Resequencing of 672 Native Rice Accessions to Explore Genetic Diversity and Trait Associations in Vietnam, the rice strain was not used to put together a better, elite rice variety.

The local rice varieties adapted from the subpopulation are a possible source of great genes that contain beneficial traits that can be a potential alternative to rice breeders. The process will help sustain a new generation of rice that lowers the production input while at the same time increasing nourishments.

This type of rice, also known as Green Super Rice, can also be suitable in desolated regions that have little to no agricultural value. Ultimately, the new rice can be a sustainable source of food that can manage to withstand the harsh weather conditions due to climate change.

Earlham Institute expert and principal author of the study Janet Higgins emphasized that Vietnam is among the rich rice breeders to date, which is proven by the history of their local farming. Agricultural suitability in the country allowed the strains to adapt to various environmental settings, such as unpredictable, extreme weather conditions. It can also be the solution to address the worldwide demand for rice.

The new, untapped rice Indica I5 will undergo further research to develop an agronomic, smart, and eco-friendly way to grow the crop. Higgins added that the study will also determine the structure of the genomes and that will help other rice crops become sustainable, optimizing rice production for greater food demand, while also protecting the planet.