Team:Nevada

iRICE: A Novel Approach to Biofortification of Rice
Even though white rice is a major source of calories for over half the world’s population, it is a poor source of nutrients due to their loss of nutrients from milling and polishing processes. Fortification is common practice in the US, using a vitamin dusting technique as the primary method for supplementation. Such approaches have had limited success in most rice dependent cultures because many cultures wash their rice prior to cooking and many vitamins are leeched away during the washing process. To address this problem in countries dependent on rice as their staple grain, we have engineered proteins that will adhere nutrients to rice grains and prevent losses. These proteins contain a starch-binding domain that is fused to specific nutrient-binding domains. Because rice is composed mainly of starch, the starch-binding domain prevents nutrient leeching during washing. Upon cooking, the nutrient-binding domain denatures and releases the nutrients into the cooked rice. Supplementing rice with these fusion proteins will provide an alternative approach to fortifying rice. Proteins with a starch-binding domain connected to a Vitamin B12-binding domain, a thiamine-binding domain, a lysine-rich protein, and a Red Fluorescent Protein have been created.


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