Gene Editing Rice to Withstand High Nighttime Temperature

As studies show that nights are getting warmer in rice-growing regions of the world, scientists turn to gene editing to develop rice varieties with tolerance to higher nighttime temperatures. Vibha Srivastava, professor of plant biotechnology in the crop, soil, and environmental sciences department for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, explores the potential for gene editing in rice to tolerate night heat.

During the flowering and grain-filling stages, rice is more sensitive to high nighttime temperatures, with most varieties showing sensitivity to nighttime temperatures above 28 Celsius, or 82.4 Fahrenheit. Higher nighttime temperatures lead to yield losses and chalkiness, an undesirable characteristic that impacts milling quality, cooking quality, and palatability. Based on recent studies, high nighttime stress can lead to a 90 percent loss in grain yield and a significant increase in chalkiness.

An Indian rice variety called Nagina 22 offers high nighttime tolerance but has small grain size, chalkiness, and tall stalks susceptible to lodging. Srivastava said that gene editing can be used to improve the desirable traits in Nagina 22, or crosses with Nagina 22. She also noted that cloning and analysis of Chalk5, a major chalk region of DNA in rice, opens a route to reducing chalkiness using gene editing.

For more details, read the news release from the University of Arkansas.