Genes offering the potential for designing yield-related traits in rice.

Breeding of high-yielding rice is crucial for meeting the food demand of the increasing world population. New technologies have facilitated identification of genes involved in quantitative traits, and many genes underpinning quantitative trait loci involved in rice crop yield have been isolated. Meanwhile, various kinds of mutants have been intensively studied, leading to characterization of many genes related to yield traits. A combination of quantitative trait locus analysis and studies of such mutants has made it possible to compile a list of genes available for breeding rice with higher yield.