July 31, 2026
Scientists and plant breeders from 11 countries recently agreed to pursue joint research on climate-resilient crop varieties as rice and other food crops face increasing risks from drought, flooding, salinity, and emerging diseases.
The agreement was reached during the 2026 Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia Mutation Breeding Workshop, hosted by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.
Researchers from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines shared updates on mutation breeding, a technique used to develop crop lines with useful traits for productivity, stress tolerance, and grain quality.
Representing the Philippines, PhilRice senior plant breeder Christopher C. Cabusora presented the country’s work using genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism genotyping and field evaluation to identify superior mutant rice lines for breeding and variety development. The researchers examined differences in the rice plants’ DNA, then tested the plants in the field to see which lines carried useful traits such as tolerance to drought, flooding, salinity, and disease. The process helps breeders identify which rice lines have the best potential for developing future varieties suited to changing climate conditions.
“Our study identified promising mutant rice lines carrying multiple favorable genes associated with drought, salinity, submergence, disease resistance, grain quality, yield, and yield-enhancing traits,” Cabusora said.
The Philippine team also reported the validation of elite rice mutants under combined salinity and submergence stress, conditions that threaten rice areas exposed to flooding and saltwater intrusion.
To support future work, member countries agreed to continue joint breeding programs, expand training and technology exchange, seek funding opportunities, and create mechanisms for sharing research resources.
Participants also proposed a memorandum of understanding to improve technical cooperation and information sharing. Planned actions include renewing the FNCA website, creating an online database of mutant varieties and research facilities, and strengthening science communication to improve public awareness of mutation breeding technologies.
Priority tools for future research include ion beam irradiation, genomics, molecular markers, gene editing, AI-assisted phenotyping, and remote sensing.
Cabusora said member countries also aim to strengthen commercialization and farmer adoption of mutant varieties.
The next FNCA Mutation Breeding Workshop will be held in Vietnam in 2027 to review progress on the agreed initiatives.
Among the reported country updates, Bangladesh advanced cold-tolerant rice mutants and released BINA dhan 25, while Indonesia reported three new sorghum mutant varieties and drought-tolerant rice lines.
Japan presented salt-tolerant rice developed through ion beam irradiation, while Malaysia tested advanced rice mutants under salinity and disease stress.
Mongolia moved wheat mutants toward national release, Thailand worked on acid soil-tolerant rice and micronutrient-enriched lines, and Vietnam selected soybean, peanut, and rice mutants with improved yield and resistance.
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