Golden Rice: A Boon or Ban to the Indian Society

Article ID: 36626

Aryaman Modak1, Lakshya Kumar Singh1, Nimisha Choudhary1
1Department of Agriculture, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, India.

Introduction
Human body is the most complex machine present on the earth. As machines require fuel (petrol, diesel,
electricity etc.) for working, in the same way the human body also requires several macro nutrients
(proteins, carbohydrates, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) for proper functioning. Out of
these, Vitamin A (Retinol) is required by the human body, primarily for proper vision, immunity, growth
and development etc. (Tariku et al., 2016). It is present in leafy vegetables like spinach, yellow fruits like
mango, papaya etc., cheese, milk, fish oil etc. But according to reports, 21.1% pre-school children and 5.6%
pregnant women suffer from Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) worldwide (Rice et al., 2004). Out of the total
VAD affected people, the maximum population resides in the South Asian and African countries. This
problem is prevalent among this population due to economic constraints, socio-cultural limitations,
insufficient dietary intake, and poor absorption (Akhtar et al.,2013).
According to the reports, rice is one of the cheapest and most popular staple crops which is consumed by
all sections of society in South Asia (Muthayya et al., 2014). Viewing the increasing number of VAD diseases
(which leads to night blindness, measles, diarrhea etc.) and the food habits of South Asian people, the
scientists came up with a unique idea and incorporated the β-carotene (precursor of vitamin A) synthesizing
gene into the rice crop through genetic modification. This new variety of rice is known Golden Rice which
is yellow or golden in colour and is believed to be helpful in fighting against the vitamin A deficiency (VAD)
diseases.

Development of Golden Rice

Rice is endowed with many nutrients. It also possesses the whole machinery for the synthesis of β-carotene
(precursor of Vitamin A) but not in its endosperm (the edible part) (Buu, 2003). Hence to produce β-carotene
in rice endosperm, agrobacterium-mediated transformation technology is used (Baranski, 2013).
In this technology, activation of β-carotene pathway requires four additional genes viz. phytoene synthase,
phytoene desaturase, zeta carotene desaturase and lycopene β-cyclase. The phytoene synthase and lycopene
β-cyclase are isolated from daffodil plant (Narcissus pseudonarcissus). Phytoene desaturase and zeta
carotene desaturase can be circumvented by using a bacterial gene, carotene desaturase which is isolated
from a bacterium Erwinia uredovora (Buu,2003).
These genes, along with the segments of DNA, are inserted into the plasmids that occur inside
Agrobacterium tumefaciens. In order to infect the endosperm and also to transfer the genes that activate
the entire β-carotene biosynthesis pathway, the agrobacteria are then added to a petri dish containing
immature rice endosperm (Beyer et al.,2002).
In the β-carotene biosynthesis pathway, β-carotene biosynthesis begins with a small compound, isopentyl-
diphosphate (IPP) and its isomer dimethylally-diphosphate (DMAPP). With the help of GGPP synthase
enzyme, the IPP/DMAPP is converted into geranylgeranyl-diphosphate (GGPP), which is an early
precursor of beta carotene (Beyer et al.,2002).
After introducing the phytoene synthase gene isolated from Daffodil plant, the GGPP molecules produces
first colourless carotene i.e. phytoene. Phytoene under a series of desaturation reaction with the help of
carotene desaturase (bacterial gene) or phytoene desaturase and zeta carotene desaturase, lead to the
formation of lycopene, which is a red compound. At last, with the help of lycopene β-cyclase gene (isolated
from daffodil plant or naturally present in wild relative of rice), lycopene produces the precursor of Vitamin
A i.e. β-carotene into the rice endosperm (Beyer et al.,2002).
Then the plant cells are grown in culture medium and a transgenic rice plant is generated from the
transformed cell. All of its endosperm carries beta carotene and expresses it in yellow or golden colour.

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 Fig 1: Schematic diagram showing the steps for the development of golden rice strain
Now, this transgenic rice plant produced should be crossed with the locally grown variety for its adaptation
to the particular region’s climate and growing conditions.
When the golden rice is consumed, the β-carotene present in the rice shall be absorbed in the stomach and
converted to vitamin A. This vitamin A will be absorbed by the body thus solving the problem of vitamin
deficiency.

Nutritional Content and Effect on Health

The white rice or the regular rice that we consume in our day-to-day life contains several nutrients. The
amount of nutrient white rice is given below.
Nutrients Amount/100 Grams
Moisture 12mg
Protein 6.7mg
Fats 0.4mg
Crude fiber 0.3mg
Carbohydrate 80.1mg
Table 1: Nutritional content of white rice per 100grams (Verma and Shukla, 2011)
According to the reports of IRRI (International Rice Research Institute), the golden rice also contains the
same amount of nutrients as that of white rice; but the only difference is that it contains β-carotene at the
rate of 3.5mg per 100 grams (Tang et al., 2009).
Golden rice being a rich source of vitamin A, when consumed, provides many benefits to the body viz. low
risk of visual impairment and chronic disorders, reduction of gastro-intestinal problems such diarrhea,
colitis etc. Also, golden rice helps in controlling blood pressure and cholesterol (Hamza et al., 2018).
According to the IRRI reports, the golden rice has received safety approvals from only Australia, New
Zealand, Canada, USA, Bangladesh and Philippines. Despite all the benefits of Golden Rice, shockingly,
India has not approved the production or consumption of Golden rice though it contributes to 48% of total
VAD cases of South Asia below the age of 5 (Akhtar et al., 2013).

Reasons for Disapproval of Golden Rice in India

The possible reasons for the disapproval of Golden Rice in India can be due to its low yielding character.
When it was put to field trials, it was found that the yield from this was lower compared to the conventional
rice varieties. Moreover, when the Indian scientists had introduced the genes of golden rice into the high
yielding and superior variety of indica rice named Swarma, it showed detrimental side effects. The grains

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of the indica rice turned pale, the growth of the plant had stunted, its flowering was delayed, there was
abnormal root growth and the biggest drawback was that its yield had drastically reduced (Kelam).
Besides the low yielding characteristic, the scientists also suspected that due to the cross pollination of
pollens from the golden rice, there can be emergence of new hybrids. The hybrids may have an uncontrolled
spreading nature which would cause interference in the growth of other crops; thus acting as a weed
(Kelam). Also, when the golden rice is crossed with local variety, there are chances that the vitamin A
content in the rice would fluctuate (Kelam).
According to reports, European Union had earlier put allegations on India about traces of GM rice genes
in the Basmati rice that was exported. Viewing this, the Indian Government had put a ban on cultivating
Golden Rice in the Basmati belt as a safety precaution.
Also, while cultivating Bt Rice in field trials, it was found that Bt toxin was being released from the roots
of the plant which increased soil acid phosphate and decreased soil urease, thus hampering the growth of
other crops (Hamza et al., 2018). Seeing this, the scientists anticipated that the same might occur with the
Golden rice.

Conclusion
According to the Hindu, in 2016, the field trials for golden rice were approved in institutes like Indian
Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Bayer Bioscience and
Mahyco. But in 2017, researchers reported that there was a decrease in production in the rice when it was
crossed with Indian rice variety Swarma.
Though the Golden Rice failed to meet the safety requirements, there are chances that India may again
conduct field tests for the Golden Rice in future. If it manages to pass the safety requirements and the
drawbacks of low yield successfully, then it is expected be a huge boon for the Indian market in reducing
the VAD disorders.

References
1. Akhtar, S., Ahmed, A., Randhawa, M. A., Atukorala, S., Arlappa, N., Ismail, T., & Ali, Z. (2013). Prevalence of vitamin A
deficiency in South Asia: causes, outcomes, and possible remedies. Journal of health, population, and nutrition, 31(4), 413.
2. Baranski, M. (2013). Golden rice. Embryo Project Encyclopedia.
3. Beyer, P., Al-Babili, S., Ye, X., Lucca, P., Schaub, P., Welsch, R., & Potrykus, I. (2002). Golden rice: introducing the β-carotene
biosynthesis pathway into rice endosperm by genetic engineering to defeat vitamin A deficiency. The Journal of
nutrition, 132(3), 506S-510S.
4. Buu, M. (2003). Golden Rice: Genetically Modified to Reduce Vitamin A Deficiency, Benefit or Hazard?. Nutrition Bytes, 9(2).
5. Hamza, A., Tariq, A., Ahmad, M., Anjum, M.B., & Irfan, S. (2018). Golden Rice and its impact on human life.
6. Kelam, I. Holistic Approach to The Environment and GMOs–The Case of Golden Rice.
7. Muthayya, S., Sugimoto, J. D., Montgomery, S., & Maberly, G. F. (2014). An overview of global rice production, supply, trade,
and consumption. Annals of the new york Academy of Sciences, 1324(1), 7-14.
8. Tang, G., Qin, J., Dolnikowski, G. G., Russell, R. M., & Grusak, M. A. (2009). Golden Rice is an effective source of vitamin
A. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 89(6), 1776-1783.
9. Tariku, A., Fekadu, A., Ferede, A. T., Mekonnen Abebe, S., & Adane, A. A. (2016). Vitamin-A deficiency and its determinants
among preschool children: a community based cross-sectional study in Ethiopia. BMC research notes, 9(1), 1-8.
10. Verma, D. K., & Shukla, K. (2011). Nutritional value of rice and their importance. Indian Farmers Dig, 44, 21-35.
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