Two independent groups of scientists have cracked the genetic code of rice in a breakthrough that many believe holds greater potential for developing countries than the sequencing of the human genome in 2001.

Rice paddies cover more than 10 percent of the planet's arable land, and the plant is a food staple of more than three billion people.

The draft sequence  the first ever of a food crop  provides the foundation for research in how to improve the nutritional value of rice and its resistance to drought and pests. It also boosts efforts to improve yields of genetically similar staple crops, like wheat, corn and barley.

The discovery, published in the journal Science , "brings the cereal crop of the world's poor to centre stage", says Ronald P Cantrell, director-general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

"We believe that the genome sequencing of the world's two most important rice subspecies will be the first sequencing projects to yield tangible results for humankind from the standpoints of food security and combating malnutrition," he added.

Not for profit

The announcement was made simultaneously by the Switzerland-based private company, Syngenta, and a team of Chinese scientists from the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI).

But researchers emphasised that benefits from the data cannot reasonably be expected for at least five to 10 years  although traditional cross-breeding techniques usually take twice that long to produce a new strain.

Scientists at the Philippines-based IRRI, which conducts research in sustainable agriculture, primarily for the benefit of small farmers, welcomed the draft sequence but cautioned that the research should not be hoarded for profit.

While BGI is making its data freely available, Syngenta had initially refused to release its findings to Genbank, the main public sector library of genetic engineering research. It said that individual scientists would be granted access at the company's website, but had to promise not to use the information for commercial purposes. Syngenta has since backed away from this stance.

"The continuing challenge for all scientists is to broaden the developing world's access to information and technology," said Cantrell in a commentary that also appeared in the April 5 issue of Science .

"We must provide not only finished products but also the technologies that will enable a new generation of researchers in developing countries to solve their food production problems."

The call was echoed by Per-Pinstrup Anderson, head of the International Food Policy Research Institute, who encouraged Syngenta "to make all relevant data freely accessible in the public domain".

The new information could have a direct impact on world hunger, said another advocate.

"The essential message here is that the sharing of this rice data could help millions of hungry people around the world, and be a powerful tool to provide for people over the next century," said Jason Wettstein of Future Harvest. "The more that you know about the crop the more you increase the potential to feed people."

Ferrari-like acceleration

Asia produces 91 percent of the world's rice, with India and China (including Taiwan) accounting for 55 percent.

BGI's discovery marked a milestone for China, which plans to increase its biotechnology spending by 400 percent in the next three years  meaning that one-third of all such research would be conducted by China.

The firm was founded in 1999 by a maverick geneticist named Yang Huanming, who by all accounts assembled his team almost single-handedly and with little initial government support. From looking virtually like an empty warehouse a few years ago, the Institute now contains 92 cutting-edge automated sequencing machines, four of the fastest supercomputers in China, and has a staff of 500.

BGI researchers represented the only developing country to participate in the sequencing of the human genome last year.

"The Ferrari-like acceleration from standing start to joining the global front-runners in genomic sequencing is a tale of timing, determination, and hustle," says Dennis Normile, who profiled BGI and Huanming for Science .

Other key players mapping the rice genome are the agro-biotech giant Monsanto, which gave a public consortium, the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project, a substantial amount of data on a draft rice genome it had developed. The project is expected to conclude its research later this year.

The Chinese and US researchers used what is called the shotgun approach, where a genome is fragmented into millions of tiny pieces, sequenced, and then put back together like a jigsaw puzzle by powerful computers. This strategy is tricky, but it can save years of tedious research.

The two teams tackled different strains of rice: Syngenta focused on japonica, while BGI sequenced indica, a variety commonly found throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

More genes in rice than humans

There has been little outcry so far from groups opposed to genetically modified food on the grounds that it could have unforeseen environmental and health effects  perhaps because actual modification experiments are just beginning and field trials are a still long way off.

One of the more surprising findings of the genome research is that rice has some 55,000 genes  compared to humans' roughly 30,000 genes.

"Something about human nature apparently requires that, to view ourselves as a superior species, we must have the highest gene number," wrote Jeffrey L Bennetzen, a biologist at Purdue University, in a commentary appearing alongside the new papers.

"We will need to get over this, as there will be lots of 'lower' species that have many more genes than humans," he said wryly.