Crop Genebank Knowledge Base

Transgenes

Transgenes in cultivated rice, wild rice and related genera genetic resources

Contributors to this page: T.T. Chang Genetic Resources Centre-IRRI, Los Baños, Philippines (Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton, Ken McNally, Flora de Guzman, Renato Reaño, Soccie Almazan, Adelaida Alcantara, Elizabeth Naredo); WARDA, Cotonou, Benin (Ines Sánchez); UPLB-University of the Philippines at Los Baños (Teresita Borromeo).

Transgene detection in seed banks is important for those crops that have undergone transgenic events and where transgenic varieties have been used in the area of collection. However, transgenic rice has been detected adventitiously in many countries that officially have no transgenic rice. Click here for more information about IRRI policies.

Inspecting Vitamin A rice plants being grown inside a CL4 facility at IRRI (photo: IRRI)

List of current transgenes

Transgenic rice is not yet officially released anywhere. However, transgenic rice is being developed and unintentional releases have occurred, namely:

Bt (insect resistance) in China.
Liberty Link (herbicide tolerance) adventitious occurrence reported in many countries.
Golden Rice (nutritionally enhanced with provitamin A) being tested in many Asian countries (click here for more detailed information).

Determination methods

Test all incoming samples coming from high risk countries. Use PCR or herbicide leaf painting assay for material coming from USA Bayer Liberty link.
Or do not accept samples coming from high risk countries of possible illegal release of GMO.
Hybridization can occur naturally between cultivated and some species of wild rice. Therefore the same determination methods should be applied to incoming samples of these wild species.

Recording information during transgenes determination

The following information should be recorded for each step:

See specific details about transgenes on this site.

References and further reading

Golden rice project [homepage] [online]. 2009. Available from: http://www.goldenrice.org. Date accessed: 10 July 2013.

Lemaux GP. LL601 Rice. What Is It & What Does It Mean? Available from: http://ucbiotech.org/resources/factsheets/LibertyLink.pdf. Date accessed: 10 July 2013.

IRRI. 1997. Bt rice: Research and policy issues. IRRI Information Series No. 5. International Rice Research Institute, Philippines. ISSN 0117-3715. Available from: http://www.irri.org/publications/pdfs/bt.pdf. Date accessed: 10 July 2013.

Wang Y, Jonhston S. 2007. The status of GM rice R&D in China. Nature Biotechnology. 25:717-718. Abstract available from:
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v25/n7/full/nbt0707-717.html. Date accessed: 10 July 2013.