14ème Symposium International sur la Génomique Fonctionnelle du Riz

The International Symposium on Rice Functional Genomics (ISRFG) is an event that has brought together between 200 and 700 participants since 2003, each year in a different country. The symposium is held every 10 years in Europe, the previous edition having taken place in Montpellier in October 2006. Beyond the cognitive aspects, the dual challenges of food security and climate change, and how genomics-assisted improvement of rice and its interactions with the agro-ecosystem can contribute to meeting these challenges, will be the focus of the 14th edition. Rice is indeed the most important cereal for human consumption, mainly for self-sufficiency, and the future growth of the world population will take place mainly in rice-consuming countries. Rice cultivation must adapt to climatic instability, become more resource-efficient (water, minerals) and limit greenhouse gas emissions through innovation in the agronomic itineraries and varietal formulas used. The progress made in the knowledge of the genome and the function of rice genes, particularly those involved in agronomic traits, has led to spectacular advances in recent years and will revolutionise the precision of conventional breeding. Genes involved in plant development and architecture (tillering, rooting, panicle branching, etc.), tolerance to submergence, drought and salinity, capacity to assimilate phosphorus and resistance to bacterial, fungal and viral diseases have been identified and characterised. Because of the status of model plant and the common origin of cereals, the advances made on rice benefit other field crops such as wheat and maize. The symposium, which will bring together more than 300 researchers and students from some twenty countries, will review the latest advances made in this field.