Resequencing rice genomes: an emerging new era of rice genomics

Rice is a model system for crop genomics studies. Much of the early work on rice genomics focused on analyzing genome-wide genetic variation to further understand rice gene functions in agronomic traits and to generate data and resources for rice research. The advent of next-generation high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies and the completion of high-quality reference genome sequences have enabled the development of sequencing-based genotyping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) that have significantly advanced rice genetics research. This has led to the emergence of a new era of rice genomics aimed at bridging the knowledge gap between genotype and phenotype in rice. These technologies have also led to pyramid breeding through genomics-assisted selection, which will be useful in breeding elite varieties suitable for sustainable agriculture. Here, we review the recent advances in rice genomics and discuss the future of this line of research.