Chinese scientists have found a gene that could be key in breeding a higher-quality type of rice and allowing the production of the grain to increase by at least 7 percent, Xinhua reported. 

The gene lgy3 was extracted from long and slender grains by a research team led by Fu Xiangdong from the Institute of Genetic and Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It will increase both grain quality and yield potential of rice.

Then, by injecting the new gene into NPT1, an existing gene found in some rice varieties, rice yield potential can be improved while also improving the quality.

Fu and his team spent eight years on the research. The report was published on Tuesday on the website of Nature Research.

“This practical research will benefit more people,” said a breeding expert, adding that the new gene will be applied to the breeding and promotion of super rice in the future.

The research has directly provided important and precious genes for high-yield and high-quality molecular programming, said a professor of botany from Oxford University.