Bulliform Phytolith Research in Wild and Domesticated Rice Paddy Soil in South China.

ABSTRACT: Bulliform phytoliths play an important role in researching rice origins as they can be used to distinguish between wild and domesticated rice. Rice bulliform phytoliths are characterized by numerous small shallow fish-scale decorations on the lateral side. Previous studies have shown that domesticated rice has a larger number of these decorations than wild rice and that the number of decorations ≥9 is a useful feature for identifying domesticated rice. However, this standard was established based on limited samples of modern rice plants. In this study, we analyzed soil samples from both wild and domesticated rice paddies. Results showed that, in wild rice soil samples, the proportion of bulliform phytoliths with ≥9 decorations was 17.46% ± 8.29%, while in domesticated rice soil samples, th

SUBMITTER: Huan X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4619503 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature