Researchers from IRRI and the University of California´s campuses of Davis and Riverside have recently solved a rice riddle that have bewildered scientists for more than half a century. Finally, they have identified a new gene that enables rice to survive in “complete submergence.”

The discovery of the water resistant gene or will eventually lead to cultivation and development of rice varieties that can withstand flooding. Answering this age-old farming problem, Sub1A1 will help poor farmers especially in Asia, where crops are threatened yearly by the monsoon season.