Indian J. Genet., 74(4) Suppl., 624-630 (2014) DOI: 10.5958/0975-6906.2014.00901.8 Abstract Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the major staple food crop which feeds more than half of the world’s population. However, rice endosperm lacks pathway to synthesize provitamin A. Therefore, rice eaters particularly children and pregnant women suffer due to vitamin A deficiency (VAD) which, besides causing night blindness, also makes them more prone to a range of ailments. With the aim of overcoming VAD, Golden Rice ® lines were developed by connecting the missing links of β-carotene pathway in the rice endosperm through genetic transformation. We present an overview on the origin of Golden Rice ® concept, development of prototypes, different generations of Golden Rice ® , various events and their characteristics, the progress in marker assisted development of Golden Rice ® and future prospects in India. Key words: Golden rice ® , Provitamin A, Transgenics, Event characterization, Marker assisted backcross breeding Introduction Micronutrients are nutrients required in small quantities by humans and other organisms throughout their life to orchestrate a range of physiological functions [1]. These include micro minerals like iron, zinc, iodine, cobalt, molybdenum etc., and vitamins. Among these, Vitamin A, iron and zinc are important in terms of global public health. Although required in minuscule amounts, they can be called as “magic wands” as they enable the body to produce enzymes, hormones and other substances essential for proper growth and development and the consequences of their absence are severe. Vitamin A and its multifaceted roles Vitamin A, also called as retinol is a fat soluble organic compound synthesized in the body from provitamin A carotenoids viz., β-carotene, α-carotene and β- cryptoxanthin. Structurally vitamin A is one half of the β-carotene molecule which is the most potent and also most widespread provitamin A carotenoid. α-carotene and β- cryptoxanthin exhibit only 50 % of the vitamin A activity of the β-carotene [2]. Plants and algae are capable of synthesizing provitamin A carotenoids whereas humans and other animals cannot. Herbivorous animals synthesize vitamin A from the plant derived β- carotene and after meeting their daily requirements, store the remaining in their tissues and organs like liver, egg yolk and milk. Hence the animal foods are direct sources of vitamin A. Plant foods, mainly green leafy vegetables, dark orange fruits (apricots, cantaloupe) and vegetables (carrot, winter squash, sweet potato, pumpkin) are rich in provitamin A carotenoids, predominantly β-carotene [3]. Vitamin A produces retinol pigments, which is very important for night vision. It also maintains the normal functioning of glandular and epithelial tissues lining the alimentary canal, respiratory and urinary tracts, skin and eyes. It is also essential for the growth of skeletal tissue. Vitamin A is also important for embryonic development and regulation of adult genes [4]. *Corresponding author’s e-mail: aks_gene@yahoo.com Published by the Indian Society of Genetics & Plant Breeding, F2, First Floor, NASC Complex, PB#11312, IARI, New Delhi 110012 Online management by indianjournals.com Marker assisted biofortification of rice with pro-vitamin A using transgenic Golden Rice ® lines: progress and prospects Haritha Bollineni, S. Gopala Krishnan, R. M. Sundaram 1 , D. Sudhakar 2 , K. V. Prabhu, N. K. Singh 3 , Madan Pal 4 , Sushma Mishra 5 , J. P. Khurana 5 and A. K. Singh* Division of Genetics, 4 Division of Plant Physiology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012; 1 ICAR-Directorate of Rice Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad 500 030; 2 Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003; 3 ICAR-National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, Pusa Campus, New Delhi 110 012; 5 Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Delhi, South Campus, New Delhi 110 021 (Received : September 2014; Revised : November 2014; Accepted : November 2014)