Chengxi  Wang , Xinguang  Cai , Qiangsheng  Qian

Modern Agricultural Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Rice Genomics and Genetics, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 4   
Received: 16 Jun., 2025    Accepted: 29 Jul., 2025    Published: 16 Aug., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The quality of rice mainly depends on the composition and structure of starch within its grains. The ratio of amylose to amylopectin content not only affects the steamed and cooked taste quality and nutritional value of rice, but also relates to the digestibility and glycemic index of rice and other health attributes. To meet the growing demand for high-quality rice, it is of great significance to conduct in-depth research on the molecular basis of starch biosynthesis in rice grains. This study reviews the biochemical mechanisms, genetic regulatory networks, and molecular breeding strategies of the rice starch synthesis pathway, introduces the functions and expression patterns of the main enzymes and related genes in starch synthesis during grain development, and summarizes the regulatory effects of transcription factors, non-coding Rnas, and epigenetic modifications on starch synthesis. This paper analyzes the key genetic loci and alleles that affect the ratio of amylose to amylopectin and the structure of starch grains. Combined with the research cases of typical gene mutants, it explores the strategies for improving the quality of rice grains through molecular breeding methods, including the application of new technologies such as molecular marker-assisted selection and gene editing. This study summarizes the latest progress in the regulation of starch synthesis, looks forward to its application prospects in the cultivation of high-quality rice in the future, and provides theoretical support and feasible molecular improvement strategies for the breeding of high-quality rice.

Rice; Starch synthesis; Amylose; Genetic regulation; Grain quality