The mutations that convey the white pericarp phenotype to rice (Oryza sativa subsp. japonica) are in a regulatory gene, Rc. We have identified a genetic difference between the cultivar 'Perla' and its natural red rice mutant 'Perla Rosso' in the Rc gene. The deletion of a G base restores the reading frame for the Rc gene, lost by the original 14 bp deletion that gave rise to white rice.