Research, rethink and revolutionize rice breeding: an interview with Qifa Zhang

Abstract

More than 100 Nobel laureates recently signed a letter urging Greenpeace to end its opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). With an ever-increasing demand for food, China finds itself confronted with the same question: is it time to rethink and reassess its stance towards GMO? Rice is one of the most important food crops in China and around the world. In recent years, Chinese scientists have made important progress in rice functional genomics research including identifying genes and regulatory mechanisms and platforms and technologies for breeding new varieties. However, in contrast to the progress in scientific research, the commercial, social and policy framework remains largely unresolved. National Science Review (NSR) spoke with Qifa Zhang (Zhang), Professor at Huazhong Agricultural University, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Foreign Associate of National Academy of Sciences, USA. In this interview, Prof. Zhang shares with us his views and insights on the frontier research in rice studies and commercialization of transgenic rice in China.