Crops Rich in Vitamin a Golden Rice and Golden Mustard, Develop Symptoms, Transgenic Crops, Mustard Oil, Narcissue, Phytoene Synthase

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Home >> Plant Biotechnology and Genomics >> Genetically Modified-GM Crops and Floricultural Plants >> Crops Rich in Vitamin a Golden Rice and Golden Mustard

Crops, rich in vitamin A ('Golden Rice' and 'Golden Mustard')

World-wide, it is estimated that 124 million children suffer with vitamin A deficiency (V AD), which annually causes irreversible blindness in 500,000 children and results in large scale deaths of these children. In Southeast Asia, due to V AD, every year five million children develop symptoms that may lead to blindness.

V AD is also a matter of concern in several areas of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. It is estimated that vitamin A nutrition may prevent approximately 1 to 2 million deaths every year among children aged 1 to 4 and an additional 0.25 to 0.5 million during higher age group of children.

In view of these concerns, transgenic crops like rice and mustard, described as 'golden rice' and 'golden mustard' that are rich in vitamin A have either been developed or are being developed (the term 'gold ' refers, to the golden colour of the rice grain or mustard oil due to vitamin A).

Golden rice was developed by using two genes from Narcissus (phytoene synthase = psy; lycopene β-cyclase = lcy) and one gene from Erwinia (phytoene desaturase = Crtl).

Extensive research during 1996-2000, by Ingo Potrykus in Switzerland and Peter Beyer in Germany, led to the development of transgenic 'Golden Rice', containing betacarotene and carotenoids that are precursors of Vitamin A. It is believed to be one potential solution to VAD, although improved diet including green vegetables, animal products and vitamin pills could be other possible alternative solutions. In the year 2000, efforts were made to donate golden rice to alleviate poverty and poor health in the third world.

In this connection several private companies having proprietary rights (intellectual property rights) on technologies used in this research licensed these technologies free of charge for humanitarian uses of golden rice in developing countries. During the year 2001, sample seed of 'Golden Rice'

Steps involved, sources of genes and important components of gene constructs, used for the development of pro-vitamin A rice.

were also provided to International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Philippines, to investigate its safety and utility. It should be ready for field trials by 2003-04 and for the farmers fields by 2005-06.

In December 2000, a collaborative project to develop 'Golden Mustard' was launched between the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) in India, and Monsanto and Michigan State University (MSU) in USA. 'Golden Mustard' will yield cooking oil with high content of beta-carotene (provitamin A). The technology thus will provide rice and mustard with high level of vitamin A and in future, the technology will certainly be extended to other crops like maize.

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