Quantitative gene expression analyses of ferritin at different stages of grain filling in rice
2009
Poncio, M.A. | Poletti, S. | Manzanilla, M. | Slamet-Loedin, I.H., International Rice Research Inst., DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila (Philippines). Tissue Culture and Biotechnology Lab.
Rice is a food for more than half of the world's population, contains little iron in the starchy endosperm and this contributes to a widespread iron deficiency in populations overly-dependent on rice. Iron deficiency is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency in the world. An effort to further increase bioavailable iron in the rice endosperm is by incorporation of exogenous ferritin genes through biotechnology (Goto et al, 1999; Lucca et al, 2001). Although iron biofortification has been a major focus of many nutritional programs in the last ten years, very little is known about the gene expression in the seeds during grain filling. Understanding the expression of the genes in the grain is a crucial step to define new and effective strategies for rice biofortification. Transcriptomic analyses of ferritin genes (Fer1, Fer2) at different stages of grain filling was conducted in the indica elite megavariety IR64, the higher iron variety IR 68144, and in the japonica variety Tsukinohikari. This research aims to give a new insight on gene expression in the seeds and this finding would be discussed to develop new strategies for iron biofortification in rice and its perspectives for improving human health.
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