Heterosis is fundamental to enhancing agricultural productivity and significantly boosting food security. However, the advantageous phenotypes of heterosis in F¹ hybrids are lost in subsequent generations due to random segregation of chromosomes and meiotic recombination, and thereby trait segregation, necessitating substantial annual reinvestment in seed production. Apomixis, a form of asexual reproduction through seeds, circumvents these issues by maintaining heterozygous genotype of hybrids across generations, thus preserving trait uniformity and enhancing heterosis utilization. In this talk, I will present the establishment of a synthetic apomixis system in hybrid rice and demonstrate how to improve the production quantity and clonal efficiency of hybrid seeds by identifying key genes and continually optimizing the apomixis system.

rice, hybrid