Marker assisted biofortification of rice with pro-vitamin A using transgenic Golden Rice® lines: progress and prospects

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the major staple food crop which feeds more than half of the world’s population. However, rice endosperm lacks pathway to synthesize provitamin A. Therefore, rice eaters particularly children and pregnant women suffer due to vitamin A deficiency (VAD) which, besides causing night blindness, also makes them more prone to a range of ailments. With the aim of overcoming VAD, Golden Rice® lines were developed by connecting the missing links of b-carotene pathway in the rice endosperm through genetic transformation. We present an overview on the origin of Golden Rice® concept, development of prototypes, different generations of Golden Rice®, various events and their characteristics, the progress in marker assisted development of Golden Rice® and future prospects in India.