Multidimensional Decoding of Rice Coevolution: Archaeological Evidence, Genetic Mechanisms, and Germplasm Exploration

Rice ( Oryza sativa) underpins global food security. Integrating archaeological, genomic and cultural evidence, this review delineates the spatiotemporal dynamics of rice domestication and diffusion, the selection of key agronomic traits, and environment-driven adaptive evolution, and looks ahead to how the continuous exploitation of wild relatives, landraces and novel alleles will propel each stage of rice improvement.