Rice is the staple food for more than a third of the world′s population. It is estimated that rice constitutes nearly 20% of all human calorific intake. Global warming [1], desertification and salination have all contributed to reducing global rice yield. As agricultural conditions take a turn for the worst, researchers are finding ways to create more durable and higher-yielding crops.

Dwarfism, drought resistance and increased yield have long been key trait loci targets for rice. Gene transplant is a promising technique for trait modification. For example, results have shown that over-expression of the Arabidopsis PHYTOCHROME A (PHYA) gene in rice increased grain yield by up to 21% [2]. The transgenic plants also showed significant reduction in height.

Phytochromes are a family of red/far-red light-absorbing photoreceptors that control plant developmental and metabolic processes in response to changes in light. By linking the foreign PHYA gene to a tissue-specific light regulator in rice (rbcS promoter), PHYA expression in rice was increased by at least 10-fold when exposed to white light, which in turn led to higher grain yield and shorter plants.

These results demonstrate the potential of using transgenes to manipulate light-signal transduction pathways in order to enhance grain productivity in rice.

To search for other potential transgene candidates, please follow the steps below.

Step 1 of 2 Proteins with similar sequences may perform the same biological functions. To search for similar protein sequences, click here, then click on .

Result: The result shows a list of matching proteins with the most similar match at the top. Click on ″Score″ to view the corresponding sequence alignment, or on ″Bit Score″ to view the region of the alignment.

Step 2 of 2 The chemical properties of amino acids determine a protein′s structure and hence its function. To search for matching proteins with emphasis on similar chemical properties, click here, then click on .

Result: The result shows a list of matching proteins with the most similar match at the top. Click on ″Score″ to see the corresponding sequence alignment, or on ″Bit Score″ to see the region of the alignment.

1. Peng et al. PNAS July 6, 2004 vol. 101 no. 27 (9971-9975) View the reference paper here. 2. Garg et al. Planta Mar 2006 vol. 223 no. 4 (627-636) View the reference paper here.