Flood-tolerant rice plants can also
Rice, which is sensitive to drought due to its high water
requirement, is particularly vulnerable to how global climate change is
altering the frequency and magnitude of floods and droughts. If however
rice plants' combined tolerance to flooding and drought could be
improved, rice productivity could be protected and even substantially
Now plant scientists at the University of California, Riverside have
made a discovery that can greatly benefit rice growers and consumers
The researchers have demonstrated in the lab and greenhouse that rice
that is flood-tolerant is also better able to recover from a
drought."Flood tolerance does not reduce drought tolerance in these rice
plants, and appears to even benefit them when they encounter drought,"
said Julia Bailey-Serres, a Professor of genetics in the Department of
Botany and Plant Sciences, who led the research project.
Bailey-Serres and her team - Takeshi Fukao, a senior researcher, and
Elaine Yeung, an undergraduate student - focused on Sub1A, a gene
responsible for flood or "submergence" tolerance in rice, and is found
only in some low-yielding rice varieties in India and Sri Lanka. Sub1A
works by making the plant dormant during submergence, allowing it to
conserve energy until the floodwaters recede.
A gene can survive more than two weeks of complete submergence.Plant
breeders have already benefited farmers worldwide - especially in South
Asia - by having transferred Sub1A into high-yielding rice varieties
without compromising these varieties' desirable traits - such as high
yield, good grain quality, and pest and disease resistance.