Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Rice (Oryza sativa L.): A Genomics Perspective of Salinity Tolerance

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the main source of staple food for human population. Salinity is the major problem for agricultural production and it affects rice production globally. Different approaches have been developed and exploited to ameliorate the harmful effects of salinity on crop production. Development of salt-tolerant cultivars is the best option which ensures sustainable crop production. Genomics approaches have the potential to accelerate breeding process for the development of salt tolerant crop cultivars. Molecular mapping techniques are the most promising component of genomics. Molecular mapping approaches have greatly helped in the identification of genomic regions involved in salinity tolerance in different crop plants, including rice. Identified genomic regions associated with salinity tolerance accelerated molecular breeding efforts to develop salt-tolerant rice cultivars. Molecular mapping techniques (both linkage and association mapping) are the main components of genomics and these helped in the identification of genomic regions associated with salt-tolerance in rice. In this chapter, a detailed description of molecular mapping techniques, and major findings made by these techniques is presented. Future prospects of these techniques are also discussed.