HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 1 December 2022 –Research led by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) involving the use of a pioneering female sterility technique has led to a breakthrough in the production of hybrid rice seeds. Compared to the commonly used “three-line” male sterility technique in hybrid rice seeds production, the novel approach enhances the efficiency of hybrid rice production by eliminating rice seeds that have been produced due to the self-pollination of the “restorer line”. The novel technique enables fully automatic harvesting of hybrid seeds by machines, which can substantially reduce harvesting costs.
The research results have recently been published in Cell Research, a top-ranking international scientific journal.
Male sterility technique incurs high harvesting costs
Self-pollinating plants are known to maintain their genome homozygosity, and as a result, their offspring can have the same features over generations.
Heterosis, which refers to the increased rate of growth due to genome heterozygosity as a result of the hybridisation of distant parents, is difficult to exploit with self-pollinating plants. In nature, rice is usually bred using self-pollination. However, over the past few decades, scientists – following pioneering work by Professor Yuan Longping, the “Father of Hybrid Rice” – have developed hybrid rice breeding techniques by exploiting sterile male genes, and these techniques can produce hybrid seeds with the normally self-pollinating rice plants in large quantities. China and other countries around the world have extensively used the male sterility technique to produce hybrid rice seeds, and it has led to a substantial increase in rice yields.
The male sterility technique first breeds cultivars, i.e. plant varieties, of the “male-sterile line” of rice as pollen receivers. Rice cultivars from the “restorer line” with normal fertility act as pollen donors, and they are grown close to the “male-sterile line” to facilitate pollen transfer for hybridisation. However, self-pollinating seeds can also be produced by the “restorer line”, and they must be removed manually to avoid mixing them up with the hybrid seeds before mechanical harvest, resulting in high harvesting costs. In theory, using sterile female rice as the “restorer line” is ideal because it cannot produce any self-pollinated seeds. However, this approach has not been adopted because the germplasm of sterile female rice remains extremely rare in nature and sterile female plants find it difficult to self-reproduce.
TFS1 mutation exhibits female sterility
After nearly a decade of ongoing study, a research team led by Professor Zhang Jianhua, Chair Professor of the Department of Biology at HKBU, has managed to identify a “spontaneous thermo-sensitive female sterility 1” (TFS1) gene mutation in an elite rice cultivar during paddy field production. This genetic mutation exhibits female sterility under regular or high temperature conditions (i.e. above 25°C), and fertility is partly resumed under low temperature conditions (i.e. 23°C). It does not have any defects in terms of its vegetative growth.
The team observed that rice with the TFS1 gene mutation can produce healthy pollen with normal male fertility. Rice with normal fertility can produce normal seeds after receiving pollen from rice with the TFS1 gene mutation. Further investigations revealed that under regular or high temperature conditions, after pollen has landed on the stigma of rice with the TFS1 gene mutation, pollen tubes that have grown from the pollen cannot enter the embryo sac. The embryos therefore fail to develop and seeds cannot be produced. But under low temperature conditions, the ability to fertilise and develop embryos is partially recovered.
Following genetic analysis using gene cloning and molecular techniques, the team found that the female sterility mutation is created by a point mutation in the genic region of Argonaute7 (AGO7), a member of the Argonaute (AGO) protein complex that is responsible for the production of many small interfering RNAs, namely tasiR-ARFs. The downstream regulation of these tasiR-ARFs regulates the pollen tube entrance into the embryo sac, but it failed under regular or high temperature conditions in the rice with TFS1 mutation, and hence double fertilisations cannot be achieved.
No need to remove “restorer lines” before harvest
To evaluate the potential of using TFS1 as a genetic tool for hybrid rice production, the team conducted field trials in Hong Kong and Hunan Province in mainland China. The TFS1 gene mutation was introduced into three cultivars of rice by introgression and genome editing to create the germplasms with thermo-sensitive female sterility. They acted as the “restorer lines” for pollen donation. Another three cultivars of rice with male sterility were used as the “male-sterile lines”.
The team planted the “restorer lines” separately next to the “male-sterile lines” as in traditional hybrid breeding, or randomly mixed them on the farm when planting. In both planting arrangements, more than 30% of the panicles of the “male-sterile lines” in Hong Kong, and 40% in Hunan Province produced hybrid seeds. The proportion of seed sets is similar to the hybrid production yields using existing “restorer lines”, but the hybrid rice seeds can be harvested without the removal of the “restorer lines”.
Great commercial potential with reduced harvesting costs
Professor Zhang said: “Nowadays, producing hybrid rice seeds is still a labour-intensive process in agriculture. Female sterility, if it can be introduced into a ‘restorer line’ as a pure pollen donor, has great potential to reduce the cost, because the male and female parents of hybrid rice can be grown and harvested together by machines without worrying about seed purity.
“Our research findings provide a suitable trait for fully mechanised hybrid rice breeding, and our genetic tool has shown great promise for commercial applications. To maximise rice yields, we need further large-scale field trials to improve the receptibility between female and male-sterile lines.”
Apart from researchers from HKBU, the research team included scientists from the Hunan Agricultural University, the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the University of California at Davis, and the National Agriculture and Food Research Organisation in Japan.
Hashtag: #HKBU
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Stakeholder mapping, analysis, engagement and communication needs to be detailed to avoid business losses or even worse, a crisis. How can you do this effectively to prevent failure? ...
Data-driven business decisions have never been as crucial, especially in this era. MGBF leverages off, technology, experience and market presence to aid businesses in making accurate decisions. ...
MGBF provides comprehensive strategic advice and results-focused solutions to solve clients' problems in business-government relations so they can focus on their core business. ...
A critical business challenge is meeting the right decision-makers and potential buyers through the best channel and platform. How will you improve your business competency? ...
In this episode of 'A Working Lunch with Nordin', MGBF's Nordin Abdullah and regional commentator Eddin Khoo will discuss the biggest threats and opportunities for businesses as we look to manage change in the South China Sea.
This MGBF Roundtable will feature thought leaders form Japan, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia dealing with the critical issues of manipulation of public listed companies and government and their financial impacts.
A series of networking sessions with various business associations and trade organisations exploring high-value opportunities for business leaders and entrepreneurs looking to build the relationships that matter.
This integrated event will include a forum, dedicated business matching, site visits, a gala dinner and a round of golf. Aptly themed, the focus will be on regional food security issues and trends in the context of the supply chain, agriculture technology and trade regulations and policies.
Planet QEOS and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) are interested in investing RM10 billion to co-develop advanced Megawatt peak (MWp) agrovoltaic in Baram, to further boost Sarawak’s green energy initiative and food security. Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg was briefed on Friday by both the […]
Last week SPM results came out, 373,974 aspirants who have been waiting patiently over the last few months would now know their fate. Some 10,109 have received all A’s, the golden standard of academic success and the ticket to those looking to study the “more advanced” subjects in university. Proudly, […]
The classic knee-jerk reaction is to say, fire the coach, change the leadership of associations, and reduce the funding till they start performing better. This kind of negative reinforcement may work for kindergarten children, but we are dealing with high-performance adults – individuals much further along in their psychological and […]
Since its earliest tea plantations in 1929, Cameron Highlands has grown to become a key player in the agricultural landscape of Malaysia, producing 40 per cent of all vegetables grown. Despite Malaysia shifting its economic focus away from agriculture, the industry remains imperative for food security and the livelihoods of […]
Although at first glance the travel industry and the agricultural sector appear to have nothing in common, they actually share more than meets the eye. The economic benefits of tourism to the agricultural sector can be multiplied several times over. “Tourism brings the end consumers closer to the source, which […]
The Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) recently held a high-level roundtable themed ‘Designing the Future of the Digital Economy’, attended by industry leaders and business associations. The guest of honour was Yang Berhormat Syerleena Abdul Rashid, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukit Bendera in Penang. The MP’s Special Session […]
The Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) will be hosting a roundtable on ‘Designing the Future of the Digital Economy’ on 23 February 2023. It is the culmination of the first three MGBF Exclusive Roundtable Series titled ‘The Evolving Threat Matrix in the Digital Economy’ held throughout 2022. According to the […]
The Founding Chairman of the Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF), Nordin Abdullah, today spoke on Bernama TV’s leading English talk show, The Brief, hosted by Jessy Chahal, on the topic of a stable political reality and what that means for the Malaysian economy. Nordin said, “The first thing that it […]
More than 1,100 years ago, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was developing the mathematical formulas that we know today as algorithms which now have become so intertwined with the business fortunes of global media giants and the very fabric of geopolitics. A series of recent high level international reports have revealed […]
KSK Land has been recognised by the Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) for its role in attracting high net-worth individuals to Malaysia post-pandemic. The first challenge in investor attraction is “selling” the country. In the context of Asia, Malaysia is competing with some very established investment destinations. The second […]
Malaysia, in particular Kuala Lumpur, continues to position itself as a regional centre to do business, educate a family and enjoy a global lifestyle. One company, KSK Land, has taken the lead in positioning itself and the city of Kuala Lumpur as a property investment destination for the global citizen […]
The upcoming budget represents an opportunity to build resilience in the critical sectors that will form the backbone of the country’s future-facing economic ambitions. This however needs to be achieved in the context of managing the community sectors most impacted by COVID-19 over the past two years. The Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) […]
Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) has moved to support the creative economy as the overall economy moves into a recovery phase following the COVID19 pandemic. As a step in the direction of normalcy, the MGBF has agreed to host the art exhibition “I Know You’re Somewhere So Far” by one […]
Congratulations to Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob for taking up the mantle of the ninth prime minister of Malaysia. There is nothing normal about the situation; it could not have been scripted but it has kept the spectrum of media, mainstream and social, gripped. The first order of business for […]
In a stirring speech to the nation, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. stamped his brand of leadership on the presidency, in his first act as the 46th president of the United State of America, it signaled several shifts. Perhaps the weather was foreboding with snow falling before the ceremony that […]
KUALA LUMPUR, 6 July 2022 – As the global economy continues to deal with unprecedented levels of disruption caused by the pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the convergence of energy security and food security issues has become a front-of-mind issue faced by policy makers and consumers alike. […]
KUALA LUMPUR, 23 June 2022 — Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) ties up with scoutAsia to ensure that businesses are equipped with deeper regional insights. The past two years has seen a massive shift in the way businesses are conducted with digitisation, digitalisation and automation continuously being adopted to improve […]
KUALA LUMPUR, 25 May 2022 – The Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF)’s exclusive roundtable on ‘Security Concerns in Critical Value Chains’ was held in a hybrid setting yesterday at the Eastin Hotel Kuala Lumpur. The guest of honour was Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Rafidah Aziz, former minister of […]
We live in the age of crisis. At the heart of any crisis is the threat of rapid change. Change too deep or too wide that the current coping mechanisms for an individual, corporation or government are unable to remain resilient. An unwelcome paradigm shift, like the proverbial spider, that […]