Researchers from the Biotechnology Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences have introduced an innovative approach aimed at cultivating high-yield salt-tolerant rice. This strategy, developed by a team focused on crop resilience and genetic improvement, utilizes favorable haplotypes to optimize rice growth and development, thereby enhancing its productivity under both normal and saline conditions. The findings were published in Journal of Advanced Research.
Facing the contemporary challenges of global climate change, land degradation, and freshwater scarcity, the development of crops that can thrive in salty soils is crucial for ensuring food security and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Despite recent discoveries of genes associated with salt stress tolerance, there remains a significant gap in identifying genetic resources that combine high yield potential with salt tolerance for practical breeding programs, which has hindered progress in this area.
The study employed a diverse set of germplasm resources representing major rice-growing regions globally, alongside local varieties from coastal and saline-affected areas within China, including Jiangsu, Shandong, Liaoning, and Ningxia's Hetao region. By conducting a comprehensive analysis of salt tolerance throughout the entire growth cycle under field conditions, researchers identified that maintaining optimal plant height is essential for achieving high yields in both standard and saline environments. Genome-wide association studies revealed six novel QTLs linked to high yield and salt tolerance. The introduction of beneficial haplotypes into target varieties effectively balanced growth with stress responses, leading to increased rice yields under both normal and saline conditions. This approach offers a promising new direction for the development of high-yield salt-tolerant crop varieties.
This research was a collaborative effort between Dr. Rongfeng Huang’s team at the Biotechnology Research Institute, CAAS and Professor Zichao Li’s group at China Agricultural University, with Dr. Rongfeng Huang and Ruidang Quan as co-corresponding authors. The work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
The original article is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jare.2024.12.007.
Regulation of plant height to balance growth–stress trade-offs is a promising strategy for high yielding, salt-tolerant crop breeding |