Rice genome analysis to understand the rice plant as an assembly of genetic codes

Rice genome research is a recent topic in plant genomics. Because of its importance as the primary staple food for about half of the world's population, breeders, geneticists and molecular biologists in plant fields have strong interest in the resultant research. In this Minireview, results of rice genome research during the past 10 years and future prospects are presented. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.