Golden Rice: An effective tool to overcome vitamin A deficiency

Abstract

Golden rice is a form of rice with biosyn-thesis of beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A). It is a variety of rice (Oryza sativa) produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in the edible parts of rice. Beta-carotene gives rice its golden or yellow colouring. White rice, on the other hand, does not contain carotenoids (i.e. beta carotene) and therefore lacks that golden colour-ing. Golden rice differs from its parental strain by the addition of three beta-carotene biosynthesis genes. At the time of publication, rice was considered a significant breakthrough in biotech-nology, as the researchers had engineered an entire biosynthetic pathway. In 2005, a new variety called Golden Rice 2, which produces up to 23 times more beta-carotene than the original rice, was announced. Although rice was developed as a humanitarian tool, it has met with significant opposition from environmental and anti-globalization activists. Golden Rice was one of sev-en winners of the 2015 Patents for Humanity Awards by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.