The International Rice Genome Sequencing Project (IRGSP), a consortium of
publicly funded laboratories, was established in 1997 to obtain a high quality, map-based
sequence of the rice genome using the cultivar Nipponbare of Oryza sativa ssp. japonica.
It is currently comprised of ten members: Japan, the United States of America, China, Taiwan,
Korea, India, Thailand, France, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. The IRGSP adopts the clone-by-clone
shotgun sequencing strategy so that each sequenced clone can be associated with a specific position
on the genetic map and adheres to the policy of immediate release of the sequence data to the
public domain. In December 2004, the IRGSP completed the sequencing of the rice genome.
The high-quality and map-based sequence of the entire genome is now available in public databases.