Abstract

Rice is one of the most important cereal crops, feeding more than 50% population of the world. To meet the demand of increasing population, rice production has to be improved continually. As a very important part of rice plant, root system plays multiple roles in rice growth: anchorage of the plant, acquisition of water and nutrient elements, and biosynthesis of amino acids and hormones, etc. Almost all of the hot spots about rice research are associated with rice root: drought tolerance, lodging resistance, and efficient use of nutrition, the goal is to increase the grain yield with desirable seed quality. Although the understanding about rice root has been expanded in the last decades, there remain much to be done about root morphology and physiology, especially in root genetics. Rice root research is an exciting and focusing field in recent years.. It has several characteristics, such as high cellulose and hemicelluloses content that can be readily hydrolyzed into fermentable sugars. But there occur several challenges and limitations in the process of converting rice straw to ethanol.

Keywords: Rice (Oryza sativa L.); Root; Genetic research;