Discovering rice varieties that are 'resistant' to climate change

Australian scientists have discovered a wild rice variety that carries genes with good drought tolerance and heat tolerance. The discovery is seen as an effective measure against global climate change.

>>>Successfully planted high quality rice varieties from Japan

In the report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists at the University of Queensland reported that wild rice varieties (which tend to be more genetic than this conventional variety) mainly developed in hot and dry areas than other areas in Australia.

Professor Robert Henry worked at the Queensland Coalition for Food and Agriculture Innovation and research author, said the new rice variety was found to be globally significant in the context of significant global warming. Specifically, some rice genes have been found to be resistant to fungi and bacteria, two common agents and cause heavy damage to this important food crop.

The research is the result of cooperation between Queenland University and Israel Institute of Evolution. Scientists have used advanced technology to decode genes to test the genetic characteristics of large-scale wild rice populations.