Reduction of Cd in Rice through Expression of OXS3-like Gene Fragments

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal and carcinogen, and its entry into the food chain has serious effects on food security and public health (Uraguchi et al., 2011). As rice is a staple food crop for half of the world’s population, Cd in rice grain has become a major source of dietary Cd for this part of the world. Previous gene discovery efforts for the development of low Cd rice have been linked to cation transport; and for the two most effective genes, OsHMA3 and OsNRAMP5, expression in yeast can cause a Cd-sensitive phenotype (Ueno et al., 2010; Ishikawa et al., 2012).