The rice genome is small (there are only 12 chromosomes and some 37,000 genes, while the genomes of corn and wheat are six and 40 times larger, respectively), and so has provided an important model for the study of plant genome functions.
水稻基因體小（僅有 12 條染色體、約 3 萬 7,000 個基因；玉米是它的 6 倍、小麥則是 40 倍），因此成為全球研究植物基因體功能最重要的模式作物，也是第一個完成「基因定序」的作物。