Applied biotechnology research and development is on the upswing in the Philippines.

The development of new and improved hybrid rice parental lines resistant to bacterial blight is being researched on by a team from PhilRice led by Joan Marie S. Agarcio, a genetecist and molecular biologist.

For a year, the project will be implemented by PhilRice-Central Experimental Station and PhilRice, Isabela in the project site at Maligaya, Munoz, Nueva Ecija.

The project aims to identify the presence of target genes on advanced progenies and test the uniformity and stability of new and improved parental lines.

DNA fingerprinting and genome analysis of the selected improved parental lines is among the research objectives.

Through the Department of Agriculture's National Plant Variety Protection Office, the research also intends to register/patent improved and new material for immediate commercialization.

To check for the genetic identity of the improve lines, DNA fingerprinting will be conducted using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers.

The information that will be generated from the SSR fingerprints will enable identification of the introgression regions from the donor lines into the improved progenies.

Scientists hope to register and patent the research output within the next two planting seasons.

Recent agricultural advances have improved rice productivity to meet the demands of world's population.

Innovative breeding methods, and biotechnological, molecular, and genome biology are being tapped to supplement to improve rice-breeding efficiency and enhance yield.

Many countries worldwide are already exploiting the hybrid-seed technology, and its success is seen as a potential strategy for rice yield enhancement.

Densely populated countries like the Philippines have been looking at rice hybrids as a possible solution for rice shortage, since the commercial success of rice hybrids.

In China, the most populated country in the world, a yield advantage of 15-30 percent higher than the best in-bred varieties was observed with the use of hybrid-seed technology. -Biolife News Service