Researchers measured eleven root traits in 185 Vietnamese rice varieties and scanned each plant's genome. They found 24 genetic markers across 19 regions controlling traits like root thickness and internal water-carrying tissue. Several of these regions overlap with genes already tied to drought tolerance.
Rice feeds half the world's people, and drought is a major threat to harvests. A root's inner structure decides how well a plant finds and moves water. Knowing which genes control that structure gives breeders specific targets, so future rice varieties can be selected to keep growing when water runs short.
✦ The path to drought-tougher rice may run through its roots.