Question

Golden rice, a rice variety, was developed by

• A. Landsteiner and Weiner
• B. Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer
• C. Alec Jeffreys and Kary Mullis
• D. Jacob and Monad

Hint:

Golden Rice 2, developed in 2005, substituted the daffodil phytoene synthase (*psy*) gene with one from maize, increasing the total carotenoid content by up to 23-fold compared to the original Golden Rice.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Golden Rice is a genetically modified variety of rice (*Oryza sativa*) designed to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of Vitamin A, in the edible endosperm of the grain.
This biofortified crop was created to combat Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in developing countries where rice is a staple food.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us review the scientific contributions of each pair of researchers listed in the options:
1. Ingo Potrykus (from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and Peter Beyer (from the University of Freiburg) engineered Golden Rice.
They introduced three foreign genes into the rice genome to complete the beta-carotene biosynthetic pathway in the endosperm:
- Two genes from daffodil (*Narcissus pseudonarcissus*): phytoene synthase (*psy*) and lycopene beta-cyclase (*lcy*).
- One gene from the soil bacterium *Erwinia uredovora*: phytoene desaturase (*crtI*).
The accumulation of beta-carotene gives the rice grains a characteristic golden-yellow color.
2. Karl Landsteiner and Alexander Wiener discovered the Rhesus (Rh) factor in human blood in 1940.
3. Alec Jeffreys developed DNA profiling (fingerprinting), while Kary Mullis invented the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).
4. François Jacob and Jacques Monod proposed the operon model (specifically the *lac* operon) for gene regulation in bacteria.

Step 3: Final Answer:
Golden Rice was developed by Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer, which corresponds to option (B).