Global methane emissions are expected to increase as global warming
continues and the human population grows. Rice, one of the world's key
staples, is responsible for 12 percent of global methane emissions. Now, an
international team of scientists has identified chemical compounds released
by rice roots that determine how much methane the plants emit.



In their paper published in Molecular Plant, the scientists report that this
information enabled them to breed a new strain of rice that emits up to 70
percent less methane. The methane emission from rice paddies is produced by
microbes that break down organic compounds released from rice plant roots.
These compounds, known as "root exudates," feed soil microbes, which in turn
aid plant growth by releasing nutrients that the plants can absorb. To
identify which root exudate compounds are converted into methane, the
researchers compared root exudates from two different rice
varieties-SUSIBA2, a low-methane emitting GMO variety, and Nipponbare, a
non-GMO cultivar with average methane emissions.



[www.cell.com]