The International Rice Gene bank, maintained by IRRI, holds more than 113,000 types of rice, including modern and traditional varieties, and wild relatives of rice. It is the biggest collection of rice genetic diversity in the world. Countries from all over the world sent their rice to IRRI for safe keeping, and for sharing for the common public good.
Traditional varieties and the wild species of rice are being lost through genetic erosion. Farmers adopt new varieties, and cease growing the varieties that they have nurtured for generations and eventually lose these varieties.
Wild species are threatened with extinction as their habitats are destroyed by human disturbance. Future crop improvement needs the genetic variation from traditional varieties and related wild species to cope with the many biotic and abiotic stresses that challenge rice production around the world.
IRRI works to ensure the long-term preservation of rice biodiversity as a part of the global strategy for the conservation of rice genetic resources in partnership with national programs and regional and international organizations worldwide, including through the International Rice Gene bank.
Different species of rice
The species of rice conserved in the International Rice Gene bank include:
• Oryza sativa or Asian rice, which is the most commonly grown and eaten rice. It probably had its origin between the Himalayas and Indochina and contains two groups of rice: indica and japonica (including temperate and tropical japonica)
• Oryza glaberrima or African rice originated in West Africa. It is not widely cultivated but has been used to breed other types of rice grown in Africa.
• Twenty-two wild species of rice that are found in Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Only a few are closely related to Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima
Storing rice seed
Each type of rice in the International Rice Gene bank is stored in both the base (-20 degrees Celsius, long-term storage) and active ( 2-4 degrees Celsius, for distribution) collections. We continually assess our management procedures to ensure that we are doing our best to conserve this vital genetic resource for future generations.
Sharing rice seed
Following extensive negotiation among all the contributing countries, IRRI now manages the rice collection stored in the International Rice Gene bank under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. We supply free samples of different types of rice seed to any prospective user on request, according to the conditions of the Treaty.
Genetic information
With access to the world’s largest collection of rice, we have a unique opportunity to study the diversity of rice. IRRI characterizes rice for its traits and genetic makeup to find useful versions of genes.
We work with the International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER), a global model for the exchange, evaluation, release, and use of genetic resources. The data of all the rice conserved at IRRI are efficiently managed and maintained by an information system known as The International Rice Gene bank Collection Information System (IRGCIS)
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