Fundamentals, applications, and challenges of the 3K rice genomes project

For more than half of the world’s population, rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the primary source of nutrition. Rice production must expand by at least 25 percent by 2030 to feed the world’s ever-increasing population. As climate change and arable land loss take a tremendous toll on the world’s food supply, genetic advancements in rice would be crucial for alleviating the yield gap. We must first obtain extensive information on the genetic diversity of the Oryza spp. gene pool, the association between diverse alleles and critical rice characteristics, and the systematic exploitation of the rich genetic diversity using approaches that employ expertise in rice breeding procedures. The vast genetic diversity of rice cannot be represented by a single genome. To produce variants that are more tolerant to adverse weather conditions, a multi-national rice genome sequencing project was launched on May 28, 2014. Genes associated with drought tolerance, disease resistance, and pest resistance in rice could be identified using the above mentioned genetic information. Using diverse germplasm resources and high-throughput genome sequencing projects, rice genomics has made great progress toward applying basic research advances to understanding agronomic traits. It is important to remember that many important genes are missing from the previous sequencing projects, and many useful genes are present in native and traditional populations that cannot be retrieved without gene sequencing.