Rice occupies a pre-eminent position as a food crop in the world. Its production, however, entails up to 3000 liters of water per kilogram of grain produced. Such high demand makes rice prone to drought easily. Sustainable rice cultivation with limited water resources requires the deployment of a suitable strategy for better water use efficiency and improved drought tolerance. Several drought-related genes have been evaluated in rice for their mode of action in conferring drought tolerance. Manipulation of components of abscisic acid signal transduction, stomatal density, deposition of cuticular wax, and protein modification pathways are emerging as priority targets. Gene reprogramming by microRNAs is also being explored to achieve drought tolerance. Genetically dissected Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) and their constituent genes are being deployed to develop drought-tolerant rice varieties. Progressive research and challenges include a better understanding of crucial components of drought response and search for new targets and the deployment of improved varieties in the field.

稻米在世界粮食作物中占有重要地位。然而，其生产每公斤谷物需要多达3000升水。如此高的需求使水稻容易干旱。水资源有限的可持续水稻种植需要采取适当的战略，以提高用水效率和提高耐旱性。已在水稻中评估了几种与干旱相关的基因在赋予干旱耐受性方面的作用方式。脱落酸信号转导，气孔密度，表皮蜡沉积和蛋白质修饰途径等成分的操纵已成为首要目标。还正在探索通过microRNA进行基因重编程以实现耐旱性。经过遗传解剖的数量性状基因座（QTL）及其组成基因正被用于开发耐旱水稻品种。正在进行的研究和挑战包括更好地了解干旱应对的关键组成部分，并寻求新的目标以及在田间部署改良品种。