Oryza australiensis

Appearance wise, O. australiensis is categorised as long paddy rice with short grain. It is a perennial (lives for longer than 2 years), rhizomatous type of grass. It has straight culms, which are between and tall. It also has an inflorescence in the form of a panicle that is either open or partially contracted, and between and long. Its lemma awns are between and long. O. australiensis is more slender than domesticated rice, and has a high gelatinization temperature and content of amylose, meaning it doesn't stick together after cooking. Alongside this, it has a higher content of protein than cultigen rice. == Habitat ==

O. australiensis is a wild relative of other rice species and endemic to the tropical regions of northern Australia. Three other wild Oryza species are distributed across and endemic to northern Australia. This is due to the plant's RuBisCO activase enzymes, which is thermally stable up to . Other resistance to abiotic stresses include tolerance to salinity stress. O. australiensis also has developed drought resistance, where photosynthesis efficiency was not affected by stress caused from drought conditions. It may contain a large number of novel stress responsive genes. It survives the dry season through its rhizomes. O. australiensis' resistance to abiotic stresses has also led to it being used in breeding programs. It also carries genes that help it resist diseases, bacterial blights and insects such as brown planthoppers (BHP). == Genetics ==

O. australiensis is the only known member of the EE genome clade, and its genome is estimated to be 965 mega-base pairs (Mbp). ==References==