Genomic and transcriptomic analysis reveal molecular basis of salinity tolerance in a novel strong salt-tolerant rice landrace Changmaogu.

Background: Salt stress is an important factor that limits rice yield. We identified a novel, strongly salt tolerant rice landrace called Changmaogu (CMG) collected from a coastal beach of Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China. The salt tolerance of CMG was much better than that of the international recognized salt tolerant rice cultivar Pokkali in the germination and seedling stages.