LSU AgCenter molecular biologist Dr. Herry Utomo is on a mission to find genes of interest to improve rice varieties.
Rice breeders rely on Utomo’s work to find desired traits in the genetic makeup of rice that can be incorporated into experimental lines.
Utomo said he now has a new tool that helps in his investigations. It’s called the LI-COR and is a gene sequencer that increases the efficiency of his work, as well as resulting in lower costs than previous methods.
Utomo is working to assemble the genes in rice that result in more durable resistance to blast. He also will be testing advanced experimental lines from his program in 2009 to identify the genes responsible for increased yields.
Utomo said his research will include foreign rice varieties to identify the yield and blast components. He said American rice germplasm is limited, but rice from overseas could contain characteristics that might improve domestic varieties.
Once such genes are found, breeders will be able to use that information to incorporate the desired traits into new lines.
But Utomo said getting the new characteristics, yet retaining the desired ones in existing varieties, requires several backcrosses. Otherwise, good traits such as high milling quality could be lost to gain another trait.
The LSU AgCenter scientist said he also is working to find the genetic marker that would indicate increased production of lysine, an essential amino acid that results in increased protein levels.
"If we can identify it, we can move that trait to another line of rice with conventional breeding," Utomo said.
His work allows breeders to shorten the time needed to develop a new variety. Using Utomo’s work, breeders don’t have to wait until a rice plant is mature to find out if it has the desired qualities, and that means varieties can get to farmers sooner, perhaps reducing the time by one third. –Bruce Schultz
Checkoff funds for this project: $25,000