Genetic modification rice yield up to 30% higher

A group of scientists used the CRISPR / Cas9 gene modification technology to produce rice varieties with 25-31% higher yields.

According to Phys.org, new achievements by Purdue University scientists and the Chinese Academy of Sciences show a breakthrough technology for creating new high-yielding varieties through genetic modification.

Professor Jian-Kang Zhu - (Photo: UNIVERSITY OF PURDUE).

Rice varieties can give 25-31% more seeds than conventional rice varieties by modifying genes. The research team believes that this level of productivity is almost impossible to achieve through traditional breeding methods.

The research team led by Professor Jian-Kang Zhu of Purdue University's gardening and landscape architecture has created variants of 13 genes related to abscisic acid that regulate plant growth.

Among many rice varieties created, there is a rice variety that produces 25% higher grain yield in an experimental field in Shanghai, China and produces 31% higher yield in another field in Hainan island, China.

The results of this study are published today 23/5 on the online version of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.