Researchers are breeding protein-rich rice varieties that cause minimal increase in blood sugar levels

Rice is a staple food for over four billion people. By nature, it contains a lot of carbohydrates but very little protein. A team of researchers from the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines and the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam, Germany, has now identified the genes that control the carbohydrate composition and protein content of rice. The team was able to breed rice lines with low sugar and high protein content using both classical breeding and genome editing strategies. The rice variety that resulted from crossing two rice variants is not considered genetically modified and could therefore be grown and sold in the EU.

Worldwide, around 540 million adults suffer from diabetes – a figure that is expected to rise to almost 800 million by 2045. More than half of them live in Asian countries where rice is a staple food. Many of these people also suffer from a lack of protein-rich food.

Conventional rice lines contain mainly carbohydrates in the form of easily digestible starch. This can account for up to 90 percent of the total carbohydrate content. Easily digestible starch has a high glycemic index. This means that it causes a sharp increase in blood sugar levels compared to glucose and is therefore not suitable for consumers suffering from diabetes. New rice varieties should, therefore, be developed with both high levels of resistant starch to lower glycemic index and increased protein content to enhance nutritional value. They could help to improve the nutrition and health of half a billion people with a protein deficiency in Asia and Central Africa.

Mutation leads to reduced gycemic index

The research team led by Nese Sreenivasulu crossed the Samba Mahsuri and IR36ae rice lines and analyzed the glycemic index and protein content of the resulting lines. In conjunction with a DNA analysis, the researchers found that the sbeIIb gene has a significant influence on the content of indigestible amylose and thus on the glycemic index. A single letter change in the sbeIIb gene is responsible for 60 percent of a decrease in the glycemic index and for eight percent of the increase in amylose content.

This so-called HAHP line (high amylose, high protein) has a protein content of 16 percent. In contrast, conventional rice lines have a protein content between two and eight percent. HAHP rice contains many essential amino acids not produced by the body, such as histidine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine and valine. For example, 100 grams of HAHP rice protein contains around 3 grams each of isoleucine and valine, 2 grams of leucine, 14 grams of lysine and 3 grams each of methionine and phenylalanine. This means it provides the recommended daily intake of amino acids for people aged 10 and over. At the same time, its high amylose and protein content gives it a low glycemic index. This means that blood sugar levels rise less sharply.

High-yielding variety

The new varieties also demonstrate comparable yields to the high-yielding varieties currently available on the market, ensuring that their enhanced nutritional qualities do not come at the cost of productivity. “The new rice varieties could become an important source of proteins and essential amino acids such as lysine in regions where rice is a staple food,” says Alisdair Fernie from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology.

HAHP rice can be created by genome editing, using the Crispr/Cas gene scissors to switch off the sbeIIb gene. However, it can also be bred using conventional methods. “Such HAHP rice would therefore not be affected by a future amendment to the EU Genetic Engineering Act, because it is not genetically modified. It could therefore also be approved in the EU,” says Rhowell Tiozon Jr. from the International Rice Research Institute. HAHP rice varieties have already been deployed to countries outside the EU. The researchers’ next step is to integrate the genes for high amylose and protein content into breeding programs and rice varieties that are widely cultivated in Asia and Africa.

Published Date: October 9, 2024