Rice is fast becoming a model organism for plant biology and cereal research in particular. The driving force for this is the availability of the genome sequence for rice and the high degree of collinearity between rice and other cereals including maize, wheat, barley, and sorghum. For rice to be fully developed into a robust model species, researchers need access to reagents such as genetic stocks and molecular reagents to perform research on rice. Currently, there is no established resource center for rice in the United States.
A workshop will be held at the Town and Country Resort, San Diego, CA, on January 10, 2003, to discuss the need and attributes of a US based rice resource center. Twenty relevant rice and cereal biologists from throughout the US and the world, as well as database and stock center managers for other model organisms, are included to provide a critical mass of scientists to develop a plan for a proposed US resource center. A workshop report will be prepared and disseminated to the broader scientific community through plant databases such as Gramene and through journal publication. The report will include information on how to provide feedback as well as plans for follow-up activities.
