Recent advances in auxin research in rice and their implications for crop improvement.

Auxin is essential for various aspects of plant development, and modulation of auxin pathways has great potential for crop improvement. Although the current understanding of auxin biology including auxin biosynthesis, transport, and signaling mainly originated from studies in Arabidopsis, several key auxin genes were first discovered in rice, indicating that it is useful to employ several plant systems for auxin research. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in auxin biology in rice, highlight the main contributions of rice research to auxin biology, and discuss the potential for crop improvement through modulating auxin pathways.