Rice and legume improvement through molecular genetics
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Summary:Rice is cultivated worldwide and a staple food for nearly half of humanity. The United States is a major rice exporter, with nearly half of its rice production being exported. Rice in the U.S. is primarily produced by five states in the South: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas, as well as California. Texas rice production contributes to about 5% to 7% of the rice supply in the US, with more than 95% being long grain rice for domestic and export markets. This totals nearly 500 million to 4 billion to the Unites States economy yearly and Americans spend nearly $800 million a year on peanut butter; meanwhile, peanuts are also one of the key ingredients in many snacks consumed in the US. Peanuts in the U.S. are mainly grown in the seven states, e.g. Georgia, Texas, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Oklahoma. Peanut production, however, was often hampered by diseases including leafspot, stem rot and pod rot, insects and abiotic stresses, such as drought, and weed invasion. Improvements of production costs, nutrition and overall quality have also been important issues. Food allergies are also on the rise, including allergy to peanuts products, which in the U.S. affects 2% to 10% children. Despite its global importance, peanut breeding is still largely conventional, with limited success to date with genome editing applications..........
