Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo Department of
Integrated Biosciences

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important food crop in the world, being a staple food for more than half of the world’s population. Recent improvements in living standards have increased the worldwide demand for high-yielding and high-quality rice cultivars. Rice has about 40,000 genes, but detailed molecular functions of almost genes are still unknown. We can use a lot of molecular research materials and methods now such as natural variation, mutants, transgenic lines, genome editing lines, and omics analysis such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, epigenetics, and metabolomics. These significant research tools enable the development of novel rice cultivars showing superior agronomic performance and high climate resilience. Rice is one of model plant species for genomic and genetic studies. Therefore, our results can be used for genetic elucidation and breeding application in not only rice, but also other cereals, vegetables, and fruit tree crops.