Mutation Increases Fe and Zn of Grain Without Compromising the Growth in Paddy Field.

Nearly 2 billion people who reside in developing countries are suffering from nutrient deficiency, also known as hidden hunger. A hidden hunger includes iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiency. One of the most efficient solutions to hidden hunger is the biofortification of crops through breeding.

Whole Genome Characterization of a Few EMS-Induced Mutants of Upland Rice Variety Nagina 22 Reveals a Staggeringly High Frequency of SNPs Which Show High Phenotypic Plasticity Towards the Wild-Type.

The Indian initiative, in creating mutant resources for the functional genomics in rice, has been instrumental in the development of 87,000 ethylmethanesulfonate (EMS)-induced mutants, of which 7,000 are in advanced generations. The mutants have been created in the background of Nagina 22, a popular drought- and heat-tolerant upland cultivar. As it is a pregreen revolution cultivar, as many as 573 dwarf mutants identified from this resource could be useful as an alternate source of dwarfing.