Monsoon season floods in Asia can cause widespread devastation of rice crops. Some strains of rice have adapted to this environmental stress by developing the ability to undergo rapid stem elongation. Normally this type of rice grows to about a metre high, but when flooding occurs, the stem undergoes rapid and dramatic internode elongation and can grow to several metres, according to the water level. Hattori et al. have identified the genes that trigger internode elongation in deepwater rice, called SNORKEL1 and SNORKEL2. They code for transcription factors that regulate signalling of the gaseous phytohormone, ethylene. The introduction of these genes into high yield cultivars could boost rice production in flood prone areas.
Authors: Making the paper: Motoyuki Ashikari
Flood-survival genes surface after years of fieldwork in rice paddies.
doi:10.1038/7258932a
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