Last year was a good one for rice genomics. Draft genome sequences of the two agriculturally important subspecies of rice, called indica and japonica, were published in April. And in November, the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project (IRGSP) unveiled high-quality sequences of two of japonica's 12 chromosomes. In the wake of these achievements, expectations are high. "Rice DNA finding will transform how the world is fed," is how one British newspaper reported the publication of the two draft sequences. But what do we really know about the rice genome, and its potential agricultural benefits? Not much, admits Takuji Sasaki of the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences in Tsukuba, Japan, who heads the IRGSP. "We are at the starting line for rice genomics, both basic and applied," he says. From the standpoint of Sasaki and his IRGSP colleagues, the first stage of this race will involve identifying each rice gene and assigning functions to them. But whereas the sequencing was conducted as an entirely open, team effort, economic considerations may mean that rice functional genomics will become a rather less collaborative venture. Some governments that are investing in the field want to ensure that their own nationals have privileged access to any tools that they develop, and intellectual-property issues complicate the picture still further.
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