Rice is a staple food for more than half of the worldwide population and is also a model species for biological studies on monocotyledons. In recent years, Chinese scientists have made rapid and important progresses in rice biology. Here, we briefly review these advances, emphasizing on the regulatory mechanisms of the complex agronomic traits that affect rice yield and grain quality. Progresses in rice genome biology and genome evolution have also been summarized.

Key words:complex agronomic traits,shoot architecture,reproductive development,panicle and grain,domestication,rice