Identification of Markers for Root Traits Related to Drought Tolerance Using Traditional Rice Germplasm.

Drought is one of the important constraints affecting rice productivity worldwide. The vigorous shoot and deep root system help to improve drought resistance. In present era, genome-wide association study (GWAS) is the preferred method for mapping of QTLs for complex traits such as root and drought tolerance traits. In the present study, 114 rice genotypes were evaluated for various root and shoot traits under water stress conditions. All genotypes showed a significant amount of variation for various root and shoot traits. Correlation analysis revealed that high dry shoot weight and fresh shoot weight is associated with root length, root volume, fresh root weight and dry root weight. A total of 11 significant marker-trait associations were detected for various root, shoot and drought tolerance traits with the coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 18.99 to 53.41%. Marker RM252 and RM212 showed association with three root traits which suggests their scope for improvement of root system. In the present study, a novel QTL was detected for root length associated with RM127, explaining 19.30% of variation. The marker alleles with increasing phenotypic effects for root and drought-tolerant traits can be exploited for improvement of root and drought tolerance traits using marker-assisted selection.

Variability Assessment for Root and Drought Tolerance Traits and Genetic Diversity Analysis of Rice Germplasm using SSR Markers.

The studies on genetic variation, diversity and population structure of rice germplasm of North East India could be an important step for improvements of abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in rice. Genetic diversity and genetic relatedness among 114 rice genotypes of North East India were assessed using genotypic data of 65 SSR markers and phenotypic data. The phenotypic diversity analysis showed the considerable variation across genotypes for root, shoot and drought tolerance traits. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed the fresh shoot weight, root volume, dry shoot weight, fresh root weight and drought score as a major contributor to diversity. Genotyping of 114 rice genotypes using 65 SSR markers detected 147 alleles with the average polymorphic information content (PIC) value of 0.51. Population structure analysis using the Bayesian clustering model approach, distance-based neighbor-joining cluster and principal coordinate analysis using genotypic data grouped the accession into three sub-populations. Population structure analysis revealed that rice accession was moderately structured based on FST value estimates. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and pairwise FST values showed significant differentiation among all the pairs of sub-population ranging from 0.152 to 0.222 suggesting that all the three subpopulations were significantly different from each other. AMOVA revealed that most of the variation in rice accession mainly occurred among individuals. The present study suggests that diverse germplasm of NE India could be used for the improvement of root and drought tolerance in rice breeding programmes.

Association studies of dormancy and cooking quality traits in direct-seeded indica rice.

Association analysis was applied to a panel of accessions of Assam rice (indica) using 98 SSR markers for dormancy-related traits and cooking quality. Analysis of population structure revealed 10 subgroups in the population. The mean r(2) and D' value for all intrachromosomal loci pairs was 0.24 and 0.51, respectively. Linkage disequilibrium between linked markers decreased with distance. Marker-trait associations were investigated using the unified mixed-model approach, considering both population structure (Q) and kinship (K). Genome-wide scanning, detected a total of seven significant marker-trait associations (P < 0.01), with the R(2) values ranging from 12.0 to 18.0%. The significant marker associations were for grain dormancy (RM27 on chromosome 2), α-amylase activity (RM27 and RM234 on chromosomes 2 and 7, respectively), germination (RM27 and RM106 on chromosome 2), amylose (RM282 on chromosome 3) and grain length elongation ratio (RM142 on chromosome 4). The present study revealed the association of marker RM27 with traits like dormancy, α-amylase activity and germination. Simple correlation analysis of these traits revealed that these traits were positively correlated with each other and this marker may be useful for simultaneous improvement of these traits. The study indicates the presence of novel QTLs for a few traits under consideration. The study reveals association of traits like dormancy, α-amylase activity, germination, amylose content, grain length elongation ratio with SSR markers indicating the feasibility of undertaking association analysis in conjunction with germplasm characterization.

Physical characterization of the homoeologous group 5 chromosomes of wheat in terms of rice linkage blocks, and physical mapping of some important genes.

The wheat homoeologous Group 5 chromosomes were characterized physically in terms of rice linkage blocks using a deletion mapping approach. All three chromosomes, 5A, 5B, and 5D, were shown to have a similar structure, apart from the 4A-5A translocation on the distal end of chromosome arm 5AL. The physical mapping of rice markers on the deletion lines revealed that the whole of rice chromosome 9 is syntenous to a large block, proximal to the centromere, on the long arm. Likewise, a small segment of the distal end of the long arm showed conserved synteny with the distal one-third end of the long arm of rice chromosome 3. In between those conserved regions, there is a region on the long arm of the Group 5 chromosomes which shows broken synteny. The proximal part of the short arms of the Group 5 chromosomes showed conserved synteny with a segment of the short arm of rice chromosome 11 and the distal ends showed conserved synteny with a segment of rice chromosome 12. The physical locations of flowering time genes (Vrn and earliness per se) and the gene for grain hardness (Ha) on the Group 5 chromosomes were determined. These results indicate that comparative mapping using the deletion mapping approach is useful in the study of genome relationships, the physical location of genes, and can determine the appropriate gene cloning strategy.