Applying Advances in Genomics to Accelerate Rice Improvement

The goals of the project are to: (A) to increase the competitiveness of US rice on the global market through lower production costs and superior grain quality; (B) to improve the nutritional quality of rice for improved healthiness of rice consumers; (C) to secure a stable supply of rice around the world in the face of future constraints, and (D) to support more environmentally sustainable methods of rice production.The specific objectives are to:1. Assist US rice producers by lowering production costs through improved varieties: The first objective is to help breeders develop improved rice varieties that perform well with reduced inputs (less fertilizer, pesticide, and water use) by using marker-assisted backcrossing to transfer alleles from exotic germplasm that provide nitrogen-use efficiency, disease resistance, and higher yields under water-saving conditions.2. Improve the grain quality of inbred and hybrid US rice germplasm. The second objective is to identify and characterize
genes controlling grain quality traits, including milling quality (proportion of whole grains after milling), grain shape, and the taste and texture after cooking, and to develop improved molecular breeding strategies for developing varieties with superior grain quality.3. Develop improved brown rice for better nutrition and food safety: Although brown (unmillled) rice has higher levels of fiber and essential minerals and fatty acids than white (milled) rice, the vast majority of rice consumers still prefer white rice. The third objective will be to improve the various aspects of brown rice by investigating the genetic components underlying taste, texture, cooking time, shelf life, nutrition, and arsenic levels of unmilled rice, which should support future efforts at improving consumer acceptance of brown rice for better human health and nutrition.4. Improve global rice production through higher yields and stress tolerance: The fourth objective will be to increase rice yields by
identifying genes controlling yield components and by integrating crop modeling and genomic selection to increase the rate of genetic gain in breeding programs, while using molecular markers to select for improved stress tolerance to reduce crop losses in farmers' fields.5. To support environmentally sustainable methods for rice production: Future yield increases should be integrated with sustainable approaches that limit the impact of agriculture. The fifth objective will be to identify and transfer exotic alleles for improved nutrient-use efficiency, weed competitiveness and disease resistance to reduce the amount of needed inputs, while at the same time increasing the overall genetic diversity of crops to be more sustainable under future constraints.