Taiwan scientists identify flood-tolerant gene in rice

The gene, named CIPK15, a type of enzyme, "allows rice seedlings to survive and continue to grow even when submerged in water," said Yu Su-mei, a research fellow at the Institute of Molecular Biology at Taiwan's Academia Sinica.

Yu said she believed the discovery would help breeders generate new rice varieties with greater seedling growth under flood water, which would save on labor and use of pesticides, potentially benefiting the environment.

The study was published in the current issue of the Washington-based journal Science Signaling.

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