Metabolic responses of rice source and sink organs during recovery from combined drought and heat stress in the field

Drought and heat stress effects on rice have been extensively studied, in particular during the sensitive flowering and grain-filling stages. However, in the field these stresses usually occur together because reduced transpirational cooling under drought conditions results in increased plant tissue temperature. In addition, environmental stresses are usually transient and the ability to efficiently recover from stress may be at least as important for overall stress tolerance as the direct stress response itself. Nevertheless, nothing is known about recovery mechanisms after drought and heat stress in rice under field conditions.