A near-complete genomic framework of wild Oryza species now provides insights into the evolution of the genus and offers new avenues for crop improvement and conservation efforts.

The Oryza genus, containing related species of plants in the grass family, provides the world with one of the most important domesticated grain crops: rice. Oryza includes the Asian and African cultivated rice species (O. sativa and O. glaberrima), as well as 26 species of wild rice, which offer a rich, untapped source of genetic diversity for crop improvement.

This genomic resource, generated by a team of scientists including researchers from KAUST and Wageningen University in the Netherlands, is now publicly available and can be used for future neodomestication efforts: the generation of new rice varieties from wild relatives that possess natural resistance to abiotic and biotic stress, and are adapted to local climates.

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