Their research, which was published as the cover story in yesterday's Nature magazine, a leading international scientific journal, has been hailed as a milestone for agriculture research.

"It not only gives China a position on the world's scientific leading edge, but also pushes ahead the process of the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project," said Chen Zhu, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China is one of the 11 nations and regions, including Japan, the United States and France, working on the sequencing project, which is known as IRGSP that began in 1998.

Researchers hope the sequencing of the 12 chromosomes in japonica will help them produce better strains of rice in the future, leading to larger crop yields. But they still can't say when their research will turn into practical gains for farmers and consumers.

The Chinese study, which was conducted by more than 70 scientists under the leadership of the Shanghai-based national Center for Gene Research, proves the existence of 4,658 individual genes in the No. 4 chromosome of japonica.

"It's the first time we have been capable of sequencing a full chromosome," said project leader Han Bin.

Cracking the genetic code behind rice, a staple for more than half of the world's population, "will speed improvements in nutritional quality, crop yield and sustainable agriculture to meet the country's growing needs," commented Li Xueyong, a vice minister from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The project is considered significant due to the vast number of farmers among China's population.

Previously, a group of Chinese scientists led by Yang Huanming at the Beijing Genomics Institute completed the first draft of the genome sequence of indica, another key subspecies of rice.

(eastday.com November 22, 2002)