A research team recently reported the construction of RiceNet, an experimentally tested genome-scale gene network for a monocotyledonous species. Rice is the first among the world’s four major crops to have this gene network. Professor Lee Insuk (Department of Biotechnology) said, “RiceNet was completed by establishing the relationship of approximately 20,000 genes, almost half of the rice’s genes. It will enable us to discover genes more resistant to droughts and insects, from which we anticipate to develop genetically modified crops. The findings of this genetic map of rice were recently published on the online version of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) on October 31st.