Beijing Genomics Institute Research Articles

Being the Pioneer of Life Sciences in China: —Introduction to Beijing Genomics Institute

Being the Pioneer of Life Sciences in China: —Introduction to Beijing Genomics Institute

BGI-RIS: an integrated information resource and comparative analysis workbench for rice genomics

Rice is a major food staple for the world's population and serves as a model species in cereal genome research. The Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) has long been devoting itself to sequencing, information analysis and biological research of the rice and other crop genomes. In order to facilitate the application of the rice genomic information and to provide a foundation for functional and evolutionary studies of other important cereal crops, we implemented our Rice Information System (BGI-RIS), the most up-to-date integrated information resource as well as a workbench for comparative genomic analysis. In addition to comprehensive data from Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica sequenced by BGI, BGI-RIS also hosts carefully curated genome information from Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica and EST sequences available from other cereal crops. In this resource, sequence contigs of indica (93-11) have been further assembled into Mbp-sized scaffolds and anchored onto the rice chromosomes referenced to physical/genetic markers, cDNAs and BAC-end sequences. We have annotated the rice genomes for gene content, repetitive elements, gene duplications (tandem and segmental) and single nucleotide polymorphisms between rice subspecies. Designed as a basic platform, BGI-RIS presents the sequenced genomes and related information in systematic and graphical ways for the convenience of in-depth comparative studies (http://rise.genomics.org.cn/).

Rice Genome May Reap Agricultural Rewards

Two teams of researchers have independently sequenced the genomes of two of the most important subspecies of rice [ Science , 296 , 79 and 92 (2002)]. Rice is the primary source of calories for more than a third of Earth's population. One team, led by Jun Yu of Beijing Genomics Institute at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, sequenced the long-grain indica variety cultivated in China and Southeast Asia. other, led by Stephen A. Goff and coworkers at Syngenta in San Diego, sequenced japonica, a short-grained variety favored in more arid regions. Both teams used whole-genome shotgun sequencing methods. sequencing efforts will help plant researchers study rice genes controlling resistance to pests, tolerance to drought and salinity, and synthesis of essential vitamins. Although the indica sequence has been placed in the public GenBank database, Syngenta's japonica sequence is only available through the company's website (C&EN, April 1, page 18). The value of the sequence, which is ...

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China to sequence Indica

The Chinese Beijing Genomics Institute plans to sequence superhybrid rice that was cultivated from two rice varieties, Indica and Japonica. An international consortium of researchers is already sequencing Japonica, and a Chinese team led by Hong Guofan in Shanghai has taken on Indica. The new project could specifically help explain why hybrid varieties often outperform their parental strains in yield and resistance to disease.