Rice code cracked. (The Beat).

Reports of the completion of the genome sequences of one of the world's most important food sources--rice--were published in the 5 April 2002 issue of Science. The two most widely grown varieties were sequenced. A group of U.S. and Chinese scientists, including scholars from the Beijing Genomics Institute (a new major genome sequencing center in China whose work was partially funded by the NIEHS), sequenced the indica variety, while researchers from Sygenta, a biotechnology/agribusiness company, sequenced the japonica variety. In an editorial accompanying the reports, Science editor-in-chief Donald Kennedy notes that this work may not only help improve the crop yields and nutritional value of rice for the millions who depend on it as a food source, but will also serve as a stepping stone to decoding the similar but larger genome sequences of other important cereal grains.