Progress of Genomics and Heterosis Studies in Hybrid Rice

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important staple food crop of the world. Since the exploitation of heterosis, hybrid rice yield has risen significantly compared to the conventional varieties used in the 1970s, which has become an important way to increase crop yields. However, the mechanism behind heterosis is still unclear. With the rice genome deciphered, rice has become a model plant for monocots, and for which various "omics" data have been accumulated. Progress in "omics" and bioinformatics has accelerated the study of the processes behind heterosis at the genomic level and made it possible to reveal the underlying mechanisms of heterosis. This review begins by briefly summarizing the current advances in "omics" and then comprehensively covers the progress that has been made in heterosis studies of rice based on transcriptomes and epigenetics, and so on. The molecular mechanism for heterosis is also discussed. This edition first published 2013