** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** EXCESSIVE HEAT (SUMMER TEMPERATURE ABOVE OPTIMUM) DURING FLOWERING AND GRAIN FILL SIGNIFICANTLY THREATENS RICE YIELD AND QUALITY. MANY RICE-GROWING REGIONS, INCLUDING THE USA, HAVE EXPERIENCED HEAT STRESS DURING THE REPRODUCTIVE AND GRAIN DEVELOPMENT STAGES, CAUSING GRAIN YIELD AND QUALITY LOSSES. DESPITE THE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF HEAT STRESS ON RICE PRODUCTION, THE GENETIC BASIS OF RICE GRAIN YIELD, QUALITY, AND NUTRITION UNDER DIVERSE CONDITIONS IS MOSTLY UNEXPLORED. GENETIC ENHANCEMENT OF HEAT STRESS RESILIENCE OFFERS THE GLOBAL RICE INDUSTRY MULTIPLE BENEFITS. OUR TEAM AT MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY (MSU, MISSISSIPPI), DALE BUMPERS NATIONAL RICE RESEARCH CENTER (DBNRRC, ARKANSAS), AND THE INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (IRRI, PHILIPPINES), WILL FOCUS ON IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY, QUALITY, AND NUTRITIONAL TRAITS OF RICE UNDER HEAT STRESS. THIS PARTNERSHIP COMBINES SCIENTIFIC EXPERTISE, GENOMIC TOOLS, AND UNIQUE FACILITIES TO QUANTIFY THE IMPACTS OF HEAT STRESS AND MAP GENETIC LOCI ASSOCIATED WITH YIELD POTENTIAL AND GRAIN QUALITY UNDER HEAT STRESS. THEREFORE, THIS PLANT BREEDING PARTNERSHIP AIMS TO (1) PHENOTYPE A NOVEL HEAT-MAGIC POPULATION FOR HEAT STRESS-INDUCED CHANGES TO YIELD, GRAIN QUALITY, AND NUTRITION TRAITS USING DIFFERENT NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS (FIELDS) AND CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENTAL FACILITIES ACROSS THREE CENTERS, (2) MAP LOCI ASSOCIATED WITH HEAT TOLERANCE, AND 3) CHARACTERIZE HAPLOTYPES CARRYING FAVORABLE LOCI FOR IMPROVED TOLERANCE TO HEAT STRESS USING FIELD-BASED TENTS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS BUILT ON EXISTING PHYSIOLOGICAL, BREEDING, AND GENOMIC RESOURCES AND DRIVES INNOVATION TO TACKLE THE IMPACTS OF HEAT STRESS ON RICE GRAIN YIELD, QUALITY, AND NUTRITION. OUTCOMES FROM THIS PARTNERSHIP WILL HELP TO DEVELOP CLIMATE-RESILIENT RICE WITH HEALTHY GRAINS FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE RICE-GROWING CLIMATES.