Genome-Based Identification of Heterotic Patterns in Rice.

BACKGROUND: Hybrid rice breeding facilitates to increase grain yield and yield stability. Long-term success of hybrid breeding depends on the recognition of high-yielding complementary heterotic patterns, which is lacking in crops like rice. RESULT: The main goal of this study was to evaluate the potential and limits to use genomics for establishing heterotic patterns in rice. For this purpose, data of a commercial hybrid rice breeding program targeted to India was analyzed, including 1,960 phenotyped hybrids from three market segments and 262 genotyped parental lines. Our cross-validation study revealed that grain yield of all potential single-crosses can be accurately predicted. Based on the full matrix of hybrid performances, high-yielding heterotic patterns were identified. These heterotic patterns increased grain yield up to 9% compared to the currently employed groups. Heterotic groups of around 14 individuals reflect a good compromise between long-term and short-term selection response. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings clearly underlined the benefits of a genome-based establishment of heterotic patterns in rice as a requirement for a sustainable long-term success of hybrid rice breeding.