Field Crop 2025, Vol.8, No.1, 20-31 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/fc 26 strengthening those "life-saving genes" so that rice can at least survive when encountering drought, salinity and other troubles, and not suffer a total crop failure. Interestingly, some studies are now beginning to try to combine the two, making rice grow strong and equipping it with various "survival skills". This is a true all-round player. 5.2 Key results and success metrics To measure the effect of CRISPR technology in rice breeding, we have to look at several hard indicators. Let's talk about the increase in yield first-the most intuitive is to look at the changes in rice ears and rice grains. For example, the rice grains of rice with the GS3 gene modified are significantly larger; the rice ears of rice with the OsPIN5b gene modified are longer (Zeng et al., 2020). These are all real yield-increasing characteristics, and farmers can see them at a glance in the field. However, it is not enough to just look at the performance of the season. The key is to see whether these improved traits can be stably inherited. The experimental data tracked to the third and fourth generations are quite optimistic, indicating that these edits are indeed reliable. Of course, in the end, it still depends on the per-acre yield figures. After all, the end point of breeding improvement is always yield. To judge whether the stress resistance editing is successful, it mainly depends on the performance of rice when it is "abused". For example, those with modified OsMYB30 genes are still energetic in the ice and snow; those with modified OsSAP genes can also survive years of drought-specifically, it depends on hard indicators such as survival rate and plant height, as well as whether the cells are oxidatively damaged (Zeng et al., 2020). Park and his team's 2022 study found that when drought-resistant rice is short of water, the damage markers in the leaves are indeed much less (Park et al., 2022). However, the most reassuring thing is that these stress resistance characteristics can be steadily passed on to the next generation, and they are well maintained in the T2 generation (Zeng et al., 2020). To put it bluntly, a good variety must be both effective at the moment and reliable for future generations. This is a truly valuable improvement. 5.3 Potential for practical application Faced with the increasingly severe challenges of global food security, CRISPR technology has demonstrated unique application value. The most attractive thing about this technology is that it can achieve simultaneous improvements in yield and stress resistance-for example, it can not only cultivate varieties with large panicles and more grains, but also enable these high-yield rice to cope with harsh environments such as drought and salinity (Romero and Gatica-Arias, 2019). Studies have shown that in areas where extreme weather is frequent due to climate change, such gene-edited rice varieties show significant advantages (Zeng et al., 2020). Especially in agriculturally vulnerable areas such as Southeast Asia and Africa, field trial data have confirmed the practical application value of these varieties (Nazir et al., 2022). However, in order to truly maximize the benefits of this technology, it is currently urgent to solve the problem of connection from laboratory research to commercial promotion. When it comes to breeding speed, CRISPR technology is much faster than traditional methods-this is particularly useful in adapting rice to climate change and market changes. Take drought resistance as an example. The new varieties produced by editing the OsSAP gene are a timely rain for rain-fed agricultural areas in Asia and South America that rely on the weather for food (Park et al., 2022). Although traditional breeding can also produce stress-resistant varieties, it often takes ten to eight years. Salt-tolerant varieties are also a good example. Varieties improved through gene editing can allow rice to be grown in saline-alkali land, which is equivalent to a lot of arable land out of thin air (Nazir et al., 2022). But then again, if these new varieties are to be truly promoted, they still have to pass the level of acceptance by farmers. Now, regulatory authorities in various countries have clearly relaxed their attitude towards CRISPR technology, especially for those edited varieties that do not introduce foreign DNA-in other words, rice that only changes its own genes and does not touch foreign genes. This "clean" editing method is indeed easier to pass approval (Zegeze et al., 2022). Farmers and consumers are also much more accepting, after all, it sounds more reliable than genetic modification. But then again, although the policy is being relaxed, it still has to go through many hurdles to promote it on a large scale. But in any case, this brings the new high-yield and stress-resistant rice varieties one step closer to the field, which is definitely a good thing for solving food security problems.
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