A deceptively simple question: where does rice come from?

The answer is understandably complex, incomplete, and mostly in the hands of two very different kind of scientists. On the one hand are archeologists - more specifically, 'archeobotanists' - whose modus operandi is still firmly rooted in excavations and exhaustive cataloging. On the other hand, geneticists,who work in one of the fastest growing and most technologic disciplines in all of science.

IRRI Radio's Michael Joyce caught up with archeobotanist, Dr. Dorian Fuller, and geneticist, Dr. Susan McCouch at the 7th International Rice Genetics Symposium in Manila in November, 2013. It seems Drs. McCouch and Fuller not only wanted to talk about where rice comes from, but also why the answer to the question matters so much to so many.

For the extended version of the interview with Dr. Dorian Fuller:

https://soundcloud.com/irri-radio/the-origin-of-rice-a

For more on Dr. Dorian Fuller:

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/people/staff/fuller

For more on Dr. Susan McCouch:

http://plbrgen.cals.cornell.edu/cals/pbg/people/faculty.cfm?netId=srm4

Rice Basics:

http://www.irri.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=9081

[First published on November 12th, 2013 by IRRI Radio]