Artificial Chromosomes in Rice (Oryza sativa).

Chromosomes are the carriers of genetic material in biological organisms. Each chromosome has three essential components: a centromere, telomeres, and origins of replication. The understanding of the essential structural and functional organization of chromosomes has made it possible to produce artificial chromosomes (ACs), which are human-engineered minichromosomes. There are two approaches to make ACs: de novo assembly (bottom-up) and truncation of existing chromosomes (top-down). Rice (Oryza sativa) ACs are produced by telomere-mediated chromosome truncation, and may have many applications, such as genetic engineering to stack and express multiple genes in rice to combat diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses, to enhance tolerance of rice to environmental stresses such as drought, heat, and salinity, and to improve yield and quality. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.