Scots team in drive to improve rice

SCOTTISH scientists are using pioneering DNA techniques to develop a healthier type of rice to help feed millions of people around the world.

University of Aberdeen researchers also hope to find ways of reducing the amount of water needed to grow rice, to make the grain more sustainable.

The four-year international study is focused on Bangladesh, where 70 per cent of the food people eat is rice. Experts plan to sequence the genes of 300 varieties of rice from Bangladesh and surrounding Indian states.

Professor Andrew Meharg, one of the leaders of the 
international study, said: “We will be employing one of the most pioneering developments in plant science – genome sequencing of plants – to analyse genes within rice.”