Sixteen upland rice varieties were evaluated under three irrigation regimes (100%, 70%, and 50% field capacity) with additional six‑day water withholding to simulate moderate and severe drought. Yield losses ranged from 35% to 78% depending on stress level, and varieties Dawk Kha, Khao/Sai, and Dawk Pa‑yawm showed the greatest stability, suggesting they are promising for breeding drought‑resilient upland rice.

The study shows that during drought, rice (Oryza sativa) downregulates nutrient acquisition and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis genes, causing the fungal partner to enter metabolic quiescence and retract hyphae, but upon re-watering the symbiosis is rapidly reactivated. This reversible dynamic suggests that plant‑fungus mutualisms are fragile under fluctuating water availability.

The study employed computational approaches to characterize the SUMOylation (ULP) machinery in Asian rice (Oryza sativa), analyzing phylogenetic relationships, transcriptional patterns, and protein structures across the reference genome, a population panel, and wild relatives. Findings reveal an expansion of ULP genes in cultivated rice, suggesting selection pressure during breeding and implicating specific ULPs in biotic and abiotic stress responses, providing resources for rice improvement.

The study evaluated how acute heat stress affects early-stage rice seedlings, identifying a critical temperature threshold that impairs growth. Transcriptomic profiling of shoots and roots revealed ethylene‑responsive factors (ERFs) as central regulators, with ethylene and jasmonic acid acting upstream, and pre‑treatment with these hormones mitigated heat damage. These findings highlight ERF‑hormone interaction networks as targets for improving rice heat resilience.

The study identified a major QTL (qDTH3) on chromosome 3 responsible for a 7‑10‑day earlier heading phenotype in the rice line SM93, using QTL‑seq, KASP genotyping, association mapping, and transcriptomic analysis to fine‑map the locus to a 2.53 Mb region and pinpoint candidate genes. SNP markers linked to these genes were proposed as tools for breeding early‑maturing, climate‑resilient rice varieties.