Rice is the first crop plant, and only the second plant of any kind, to be sequenced.
This means scientists now have the grain's entire 430million-letter DNA code to an accuracy of 99.5 per cent. In that code could be up to 50,000 genes which will almost certainly hold the secrets of higher yields, better pest resistance and richer nourishment for the 3billion for whom rice is a staple of survival. The researchers promised seeds with new properties in about five years. The project is likely to raise questions about corporate control of genetic material, particularly since it involves a crop vital to many poor nations. Rice is grown in 100 countries but nine-tenths of the world's crop is produced in Asia.