ST. LOUIS-- The latest high-tech version of rice, described here last week at the 16th International Botanical Congress, has been genetically engineered to contain b-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, as well as a healthy dose of iron. This achievement is a Herculean feat of gene transfer. Unlike other genetically engineered crops, which contain only one or two foreign genes, the new rice strain carries a total of seven foreign genes from two separate pathways. But beyond that, it9s also a major leap on a more humanitarian front: It may offer improved nutrition for the billions of people in developing nations who depend on rice as a staple food.
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