When it comes to major anthropogenic sources of methane (an important greenhouse gas), leaky natural gas wells and pipelines might come to mind, and maybe livestock. However, rice cultivation is also among the largest sources. Microbes in wetlands, where water saturation leads to low-oxygen conditions, produce most of the world’s methane, and rice paddies are essentially human-controlled wetlands.
Down in the warm muck of a rice paddy, the roots of the rice plant release some organic compounds, and they eventually die off and decay themselves, providing the food that microbes turn into methane. Researchers are working on ways to limit that methane production, but this will always be a secondary concern for farmers. Yields rule the day, especially as demand is growing. But a 2002 study hinted at a win-win: increase above-ground growth at the expense of below-ground growth, and yield goes up while methane production goes down.
A great idea, but how to make it happen? A group of researchers led by Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences researchers Jun Su, Changquan Hu, and Xia Yan have used a gene from barley to create a genetically modified rice plant that does just that.
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