Rice Physiology, Genetics and Breeding

A Special Issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747) belonging to the section "Crop Physiology and Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 3293

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Guest Editor
Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: rice genomics; rice germplasm resource innovation; salt tolerance; gene function analysis
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cultivated rice is not only a staple food support for around 4 billion people around the world, but also a module plant for molecular biological studies. With the rapid advancements in sequencing technology, the development of rice physiology, genetics, and breeding has clearly lagged behind the pace of genomic big data. Enhancing research in these areas will better facilitate the application of superior rice varieties and fundamental research in genomic-based plant molecular biology. Especially, the identification of novel genes and the innovation of elite rice germplasm would provide resources for rice breeding and new insights into physiological mechanisms.

In this Special Issue, we aim to exchange knowledge on any aspect related to rice genetics, physiology, and breeding and elite rice germplasm innovation. Especially, in the novel gene function analysis, genetic or physiological mechanisms. 

Dr. Weihua Qiao
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 5398 KB  
Article
Synergistic Effect of Brassinosteroid and Jasmine Extract on Promoting Rice Ratooning Ability
by Long Zhang, Qiang Cai, Yan Gan, Hang Yu, Shiyong Cui, Panyu Zhao, Shuxin Zhang, Kailing Xiao, Chenran Chen, Wenfang Lin, Wenxiong Lin, Wenfei Wang and Xuelian Yang
Plants 2026, 15(13), 2090; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15132090 - 5 Jul 2026
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Abstract
Ratoon rice cultivation is a significant practice for enhancing land productivity and food security. Ratooning ability is a key determinant of ratoon season crop (RC) yield and is influenced by genetic, agronomic, and hormonal factors. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of [...] Read more.
Ratoon rice cultivation is a significant practice for enhancing land productivity and food security. Ratooning ability is a key determinant of ratoon season crop (RC) yield and is influenced by genetic, agronomic, and hormonal factors. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of foliar-applied ratooning enhancers, formulated with plant hormones and botanical extracts, on the growth and regeneration of a japonicaindica hybrid rice cultivar, ‘Qingxiangyou 19 Xiang’. Treatments included gibberellin (GA), low, medium, and high concentrations of brassinosteroid (BR), each with or without jasmine extract (JE), alongside proline and zinc chloride (ZnCl2) as supporting components. These solutions were applied twice at 5 and 15 days after flowering (DAF) of the main crop (MC). The results showed that GA treatment increased plant height and panicle length but reduced MC tiller number. BR treatments did not affect plant height but significantly increased the 1000-grain weight. Crucially, while BR alone had no significant effect on ratooning ability, the BR-JE combined application, particularly at medium (MBR-JE) and high (HBR-JE) concentrations, significantly increased ratoon tiller number and enhanced ratooning ability. However, the HBR-JE combination increased grain chalkiness. In conclusion, the foliar application of BR combined with JE during the flowering stage effectively promotes ratooning ability without compromising MC yield, offering a promising agronomic strategy for sustainable ratoon rice production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rice Physiology, Genetics and Breeding)
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14 pages, 2152 KB  
Article
Genetic Interaction Effects of Heading Date Genes Hd1 and Ghd7 on Photosynthetic Traits at the Heading Stage in Rice
by Jun Shi, Yi-Jie Yan, Zhen-Hua Zhang, Ye-Yang Fan, De-Run Huang, Yu-Jun Zhu and Bo Shen
Plants 2026, 15(6), 977; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15060977 - 22 Mar 2026
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Abstract
In this study, we dissect the genetic effects of two major rice heading date genes, Heading date 1 (Hd1) and Grain number, plant height, and heading date 7 (Ghd7), in the regulation of six photosynthesis-related traits: the chlorophyll a [...] Read more.
In this study, we dissect the genetic effects of two major rice heading date genes, Heading date 1 (Hd1) and Grain number, plant height, and heading date 7 (Ghd7), in the regulation of six photosynthesis-related traits: the chlorophyll a/b contents, net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), and transpiration rate (Tr). Using two sets of near-isogenic lines (Z43 and Z44) derived from a Zhenshan97/Milyang46 cross, functional Hd1 increased the chlorophyll contents but decreased the photosynthesis-related parameters; however, functional Ghd7 consistently inhibited all six traits. More importantly, there is a significant epistatic interaction between them: Hd1 only enhances the photosynthetic capacity under the non-functional background of ghd7 but intensifies its photosynthesis inhibition under the functional background of Ghd7. Transcriptome analysis showed that functional Ghd7 mainly down-regulated the expression of genes related to photosynthesis and chloroplast development, and the inhibitory effect was significantly enhanced in the presence of functional Hd1. GO enrichment analysis further confirmed that the chlorophyll synthesis, photosystem assembly, and electron transfer pathways were downregulated in the bifunctional allele combination. Although Hd1 promotes chlorophyll accumulation, it reduces the actual photosynthetic efficiency, indicating that it has different regulatory paths for chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthetic function. Both physiological and molecular evidence showed that the Hd1-Ghd7 module coordinated the regulation of the heading date and photosynthetic capacity, forming a trade-off relationship between “early heading–high photosynthesis” and “late heading–low photosynthesis”. This study reveals the pleiotropy of genes at the heading stage and provides a theoretical basis for the optimization of the source–sink balance in high-yield rice breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rice Physiology, Genetics and Breeding)
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14 pages, 4167 KB  
Article
Protein Phosphatase OsPP2C55 Negatively Regulates Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis and Saline–Alkaline Tolerance in Rice
by Gang Zhang, Yi Yang, Yuhan Jing, Mengjiao Xin, Shuxian Shi, Qingshuai Chen, Ke Yao, Mengyu Su, Lijing Wang and Mingyi Jiang
Plants 2025, 14(21), 3362; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14213362 - 3 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1371
Abstract
In rice (Oryza sativa L.), the short-chain dehydrogenase protein OsABA2 plays a crucial role in regulating abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis. However, little is known about the other proteins that interact with OsABA2 to regulate ABA biosynthesis. Using yeast two-hybrid screening, we identified [...] Read more.
In rice (Oryza sativa L.), the short-chain dehydrogenase protein OsABA2 plays a crucial role in regulating abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis. However, little is known about the other proteins that interact with OsABA2 to regulate ABA biosynthesis. Using yeast two-hybrid screening, we identified a novel OsABA2 interacting protein OsPP2C55, which contains a serine/threonine phosphatase (family 2C) catalytic domain. The yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assay and firefly luciferase complementary imaging (LCI) assay confirmed these interactions. Subsequent studies revealed that saline–alkaline stress significantly downregulated OsPP2C55 gene expression. Meanwhile, we constructed ospp2c55 CRISPR gene knockout (ospp2c55-KO) plants using Agrobacterium genetic transformation. Compared with wild-type plants, ospp2c55-KO plants under saline–alkaline stress exhibited significantly elevated OsABA2 protein levels, leading to substantial increases in ABA content. In addition, ospp2c55-KO plants demonstrated heightened sensitivity to ABA during seed germination. Moreover, ospp2c55-KO plants improved the survival rate and stress-related indices of rice seedlings under saline–alkaline stress, and upregulated the expression of genes related to adversity stress (OsNCED1, OsNCED3, OsABA2, OsSODCc2, and OsCatB). We found that OsPP2C55 plays a negative regulatory role in ABA biosynthesis and saline–alkaline stress tolerance in rice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rice Physiology, Genetics and Breeding)
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