C4 rice: Gateway to the second green revolution

Abstract

Rice is a staple food crop for more than 50% of world population. The demand for food grain is increasing day by day with the population growth across the globe. Production of cereals and other food grains accelerated with the onset of green revolution. By 2050 there would be a demand of 1310 million tonnes of rice and such a huge target could not be achieved with the first green revolution. So there is a call for increasing the production manifold which can be made possible through installing the C4 photosynthetic pathway into C3 crops like rice. C4 photosynthesis is much more efficient than the C3 system due to its carbon dioxide tunneling system and negligible photorespiration. Crops with an enhanced photosynthetic mechanism would better utilize the solar radiation that can be translated into yield. This review throws light on the basic biochemistry and physiology for which C3 differs from C4 and provides a summary of the several approaches for C4 rice engineering so that the pathway can be introduced successfully.