This open access book presents simple, robust pre-field screening protocols that allow plant breeders to screen for enhanced tolerance to heat stress in rice. Two critical heat-sensitive stages in the lifecycle of the rice crop are targeted – the seedling and flowering stages – with screening based on simple phenotypic responses. The protocols are based on the use of a hydroponics system and/or pot experiments in a glasshouse in combination with a controlled growth chamber where the heat stress treatment is applied. The protocols are designed to be effective, simple, reproducible and user-friendly. The protocols will enable plant breeders to effectively reduce the number of plants from a few thousands to less than 100 candidate individual mutants or lines in a greenhouse/growth chamber, which can then be used for further testing and validation in the field conditions. The methods can also be used to classify rice genotypes according to their heat tolerance characteristics. Thus, different types of heat stress tolerance mechanisms can be identified, presenting opportunities for pyramiding different (mutant) sources of heat stress tolerance.

This open access book presents simple, robust pre-field screening protocols that allow plant breeders to screen for enhanced tolerance to heat stress in rice. Two critical heat-sensitive stages in the lifecycle of the rice crop are targeted - the seedling and flowering stages - with screening based on simple phenotypic responses. The protocols are based on the use of a hydroponics system and/or pot experiments in a glasshouse in combination with a controlled growth chamber where the heat stress treatment is applied. The protocols are designed to be effective, simple, reproducible and user-friendly. The protocols will enable plant breeders to effectively reduce the number of plants from a few thousands to less than 100 candidate individual mutants or lines in a greenhouse/growth chamber, which can then be used for further testing and validation in the field conditions. The methods can also be used to classify rice genotypes according to their heat tolerance characteristics. Thus, different types of heat stress tolerance mechanisms can be identified, presenting opportunities for pyramiding different (mutant) sources of heat stress tolerance. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

This open access book presents simple, robust pre-field screening protocols that allow plant breeders to screen for enhanced tolerance to heat stress in rice. Two critical heat-sensitive stages in the lifecycle of the rice crop are targeted - the seedling and flowering stages - with screening based on simple phenotypic responses. The protocols are based on the use of a hydroponics system and/or pot experiments in a glasshouse in combination with a controlled growth chamber where the heat stress treatment is applied. The protocols are designed to be effective, simple, reproducible and user-friendly. The protocols will enable plant breeders to effectively reduce the number of plants from a few thousands to less than 100 candidate individual mutants or lines in a greenhouse/growth chamber, which can then be used for further testing and validation in the field conditions. The methods can also be used to classify rice genotypes according to their heat tolerance characteristics. Thus, different types of heat stress tolerance mechanisms can be identified, presenting opportunities for pyramiding different (mutant) sources of heat stress tolerance.

This book offers effective, low-cost and user-friendly protocols for the pre-field selection of salt-tolerant mutants in cereal crops. It presents simple methods for measuring soil salinity, including soil sampling and the analysis of water-soluble salts, and describes a detailed, but simple, screening test for salt tolerance in rice, wheat and barley seedlings, which uses hydroponics. The protocols are devised for use by plant breeders and can be easily accommodated into breeding practice.

This paper provides guidelines for new high-throughput screening methods – both phenotypic and genotypic – to enable the detection of rare mutant traits, and reviews techniques for increasing the efficiency of crop mutation breeding.

Abstract: This book presents contemporary information on mutagenesis in plants and its applications in plant breeding and research. The topics are classified into sections focusing on the concepts, historical development and genetic basis of plant mutation breeding (chapters 1-6); mutagens and induced mutagenesis (chapters 7-13); mutation induction and mutant development (chapters 14-23); mutation breeding (chapters 24-34); or mutations in functional genomics (chapters 35-41). This book is an essential reference for those who are conducting research on mutagenesis as an approach to improving or modifying a trait, or achieving basic understanding of a pathway for a trait --.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. By 2050, human population is expected to reach 9.7 billion. The demand for increased food production needs to be met from ever reducing resources of land, water and other environmental constraints. Rice remains the staple food source for a majority of the global populations, but especially in Asia where ninety percent of rice is grown and consumed. Climate change continues to impose abiotic and biotic stresses that curtail rice quality and yields. Researchers have been challenged to provide innovative solutions to maintain, or even increase, rice production. Amongst them, the ‘green super rice’ breeding strategy has been successful for leading the development and release of multiple abiotic and biotic stress tolerant rice varieties. Recent advances in plant molecular biology and biotechnologies have led to the identification of stress responsive genes and signaling pathways, which open up new paradigms to augment rice productivity. Accordingly, transcription factors, protein kinases and enzymes for generating protective metabolites and proteins all contribute to an intricate network of events that guard and maintain cellular integrity. In addition, various quantitative trait loci associated with elevated stress tolerance have been cloned, resulting in the detection of novel genes for biotic and abiotic stress resistance. Mechanistic understanding of the genetic basis of traits, such as N and P use, is allowing rice researchers to engineer nutrient-efficient rice varieties, which would result in higher yields with lower inputs. Likewise, the research in micronutrients biosynthesis opens doors to genetic engineering of metabolic pathways to enhance micronutrients production. With third generation sequencing techniques on the horizon, exciting progress can be expected to vastly improve molecular markers for gene-trait associations forecast with increasing accuracy. This book emphasizes on the areas of rice science that attempt to overcome the foremost limitations in rice production. Our intention is to highlight research advances in the fields of physiology, molecular breeding and genetics, with a special focus on increasing productivity, improving biotic and abiotic stress tolerance and nutritional quality of rice.