Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding

the presence of β-carotene, but no lycopene. This
finding suggests that enzyme 4 may be present in rice
endosperm naturally, or that it could be induced by
lycopene to turn lycopene into β-carotene. Analysis also
showed the presence of lutein and zeaxanthin, both
products derived from lycopene. None of the above was
found in the control (non-engineered) plants.
Matters arising from the development of
“Golden Rice”
The initial golden rice lines produced 1.6–2.0 µg of
β-carotene per gram of grain. The recommended daily
allowance (RDA) set by health agencies for children
is 0.3 mg/day. Estimates of the bioavailability of βcarotene
have been put at less than 10% in some cases.
The scientists intend to refine their invention to make it
produce 3–5-fold its present level of β-carotene.
Upon an international intellectual property rights (IPR)
audit commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation
through the International Service for the Acquisition
of Agri-Biotech Applications, Potrykus and his team
realized their invention utilized 70 IPRs and TPRs
(technical property rights) owned by 32 different companies
and universities. Because of the humanitarian
goal of the project, the development team negotiated
with owners of these patents to allow the use of their
inventions under the “freedom to operate” clause.
Further, because of public pressure and the need for big
business to tone down their profit-oriented public
image, the key companies (e.g., Monsanto) offered free
licenses for their IPRs involved with “Golden Rice”.
It might take an estimated additional 5–10 years
before the ordinary person for whom it is intended to
benefit can produce golden rice. The characters of the
present genotype must be bred into as many locally
adapted varieties and ecotypes in as many rice-growing
countries as quickly as possible. It is also important that
such breeding efforts be organized such that all rules
and regulations concerning the handling and use of
genetically modified organisms be strictly followed to
avoid stirring up additional controversies. Agronomic
and other studies will have to be conducted to determine
how well such golden rice yields, its palatability
and digestibility, and public acceptance.
The next phase requires additional funds. Because
of public protests against the product for a variety of
reasons, public funding began to quickly dwindle. In
January of 2001, a new effort was launched in the
Philippines for a comprehensive set of tests to determine
the efficiency, safety, and usefulness of “Golden Rice”
BREEDING COMPOSITIONAL TRAITS AND ADDED VALUE 411
for people in the developing world. The joint effort
includes the Philippines-based IRRI, Syngenta, and the
Rockefeller Foundation. Further, the IRRI has set up
a humanitarian board to oversee this project and to
ensure that the highest standards for testing, safety, and
support are achieved. The board includes several public
and private organizations, such as the World Bank,
Cornell University, the Indo-Swiss Collaboration in
Biotechnology, and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Breeding improved oil quality
Oil quality improvement is a major breeding objective
for major oil crops such as soybean and rape. Soybean oil
accounts for about 22% of the world’s total edible oil
production.
Chemical composition of seed oil
By chemical composition, soybean oil consists primarily
of palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1),
linoleic (C18:2), and linolenic (C18:3) acids, of which
palmitic acid is one of the two major components
of saturated fatty acids. Consequently, the physical,
chemical, and nutritional quality of soybean depends
significantly on its palmitic acid content. Breeders are
interested in lowering the palmitic acid content of
soybean oil so as to lower its total saturated fatty acid
content for higher desirability for human consumption.
On average, soybean seed oil contains about 120 g/kg
of palmitic acid.
On the other hand, seed oil of modern oil seed rape
contains about 60% oleate (C18:1), 20% linoleate
(C18:2), 10% linolenate (C18:3), and only 4% palmitate
(C16:0) and 2% stearate (C18:0). The major breeding
goal for oil seed rape quality improvement is to increase
the oleate content, which decreases the amounts of
polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleate and linolenate.
This would enhance its nutritional quality and increase
its potential value as an industrial oil.
Generally, food products with less than 7% of total
saturated fatty acids (C16:0 + C18:0 + C20:0 + C22:0)
qualifies to be labeled “low in saturated fatty acids” in
the USA.
Approaches to breeding oil quality
Conventional breeding approaches have been successfully
applied to improve the seed quality of various oil
crops. Soybean lines with reduced palmitic acid content