The Pyramiding of Three Key Root Traits Aid Breeding of Flood-Tolerant Rice

Flooding is constantly threatening the growth and yield of crops worldwide. When flooding kicks in, the soil becomes water-saturated and, therefore, the roots are the first organs to be exposed to excess water. Soon after flooding, the soil turns anoxic and the roots can no longer obtain molecular oxygen for respiration from the rhizosphere, rendering the roots dysfunctional. Rice, however, is a semi-aquatic plant and therefore relatively tolerant to flooding due to adaptive traits developed during evolution. In the present review, we have identified three key root traits, viz. cortical aerenchyma formation, a barrier to radial oxygen loss and adventitious root growth. The understanding of the physiological function, the molecular mechanisms, and the genetic regulation of these three traits has grown substantially and therefore forms the backbone of this review. Our synthesis of the recent literature shows each of the three key root traits contributes to flood tolerance in rice. One trait, however, is generally insufficient to enhance plant tolerance to flooding. Consequently, we suggest comprehensive use of all three adaptive traits in a pyramiding approach in order to improve tolerance to flooding in our major crops, in general, and in rice, in particular

Responses of key root traits in the genus Oryza to soil flooding mimicked by stagnant, deoxygenated nutrient solution

Excess water can induce flooding stress resulting in yield loss, even in wetland crops such as rice (Oryza). However, traits from species of wild Oryza have already been used to improve tolerance to abiotic stress in cultivated rice. This study aimed to establish root responses to sudden soil flooding among eight wild relatives of rice with different habitat preferences benchmarked against three genotypes of O. sativa. Plants were raised hydroponically, mimicking drained or flooded soils, to assess the plasticity of adventitious roots. Traits included were apparent permeance (P-A) to O-2 of the outer part of the roots, radial water loss, tissue porosity, apoplastic barriers in the exodermis, and root anatomical traits. These were analysed using a plasticity index and hierarchical clustering based on principal component analysis. For example, O. brachyantha, a wetland species, possessed very low tissue porosity compared with other wetland species, whereas dryland species O. latifolia and O. granulata exhibited significantly lower plasticity compared with wetland species and clustered in their own group. Most species clustered according to growing conditions based on P-A, radial water loss, root porosity, and key anatomical traits, indicating strong anatomical and physiological responses to sudden soil flooding.Soil flooding resulted in strong acclimation in key root traits for three cultivars and six wild species of rice, while two dryland species showed little plasticity in root traits