Quantitative Trait Loci for Grain Chalkiness and Endosperm Transparency Detected in Three Recombinant Inbred Line Populations of Indica Rice

Quantitative trait loci（QTL） for percentage of chalky grain,degree of chalkiness,and endosperm transparency were detected using 3 recombinant inbred line populations derived from crosses between parental lines of commercial three-line hybrids of indica rice.Two of the populations showed great variations on heading date,and the other had a short range of heading date variation.A total of 40 QTLs were detected and fell into 15 regions of 10 chromosomes,of which 5 regions were detected for 1 or more same traits over different populations,2 were detected for different traits in different populations,3 were detected for 2 or all the 3 traits in a single population,and 5 were detected for a single trait in a single population.Most of these QTLs have been reported previously,but a region located on the long arm of chromosome 10 showing significant effects in all the 3 populations has not been reported before.It was shown that a number of gene cloned,including the Wx and Alk for the physiochemical property of rice grain,and GW2,GS3 and GW5 for grain weight and grain size,could have played important roles for the genetic control of grain chalkiness in rice,but there are many more QTLs exerting stable effects for rice chalkiness over different genetic backgrounds.It is worth paying more attentions to these regions which harbor QTL such as the qPCG5.2/qDC5.2/qET5.2 and qPCG10/qDC10/qET10 detected in our study.Our results also showed that the use of segregating populations having high-uniform heading date could greatly increase the efficiency of the identification of QTL responsible for traits that are subjected to great environmental influence.

Mapping of QTLs for Leaf Malondialdehyde Content Associated with Stress Tolerance in Rice

Malondialdehyde （MDA） is the final product of lipid peroxidation, and MDA content can reflect the stress tolerance of plants. To map QTLs conditioning the MDA content in rice leaves, a recombinant inbred line （RIL） population with 247 lines derived from an indica-indica cross Zhenshan 97BxMilyang 46, and a linkage map consisting of 207 DNA markers were used. The RIL population showed a transgressive segregation in the MDA content of rice leaves. Two QTLs for the MDA content in rice leaves were detected in the intervals RG532-RG811 and RG381-RG236 on chromosome 1, with the additive effects from maternal and paternal parents, accounting for 4.33% and 4.62% of phenotype variations, respectively.

Validation of qGSIO, a quantitative trait locus for grain size on the long arm of chromosome 10 in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Grain size is a major determinant of grain weight and a trait having important impact on grain quality in rice. The objective of this study is to detect QTLs for grain size in rice and identify important QTLs that have not been well characterized before. The QTL mapping was first performed using three recombinant inbred line populations derived from indica rice crosses Teqing/IRBB lines, Zhenshan 97/Milyang 46, Xieqingzao/Milyang 46. Fourteen QTLs for grain length and 10 QTLs for grain width were detected, including seven shared by two populations and 17 found in one population. Three of the seven com- mon QTLs were found to coincide in position with those that have been cloned and the four others remained to be clarified. One of them, qGSIO located in the interval RM6100-RM228 on the long arm of chromosome 10, was validated using F2：3 populations and near isogenic lines derived from residual heterozygotes for the interval RM6100-RM228. The QTL was found to have a considerable effect on grain size and grain weight, and a small effect on grain number. This region was also previously detected for quality traits in rice in a number of studies, providing a good candidate for functional analysis and breeding utilization.

Fine Mapping of C（Chromogen for Anthocyanin） Gene in Rice

Seven residual heterozygous lines （RHLs） displaying different genotypic compositions in the genomic region covering probable locations of C （Chromogen for anthocyanin） gene on the short arm of rice chromosome 6 were selected from the progenies of the indica cross Zhenshan 97B/Milyang 46. Seeds were harvested from each of the seven plants, and the resultant F2：3 populations were used for fine mapping of C gene. It was shown in the populations that the apiculus coloration matched to basal leaf sheath coloration in each plant. By relating the coloration performances of the populations with the genotypic compositions of the RHLs, the C locus was located between rice SSR markers RM314 and RM253. By using a total of 1279 F2：3 individuals from two populations showing coloration segregation, the C locus was then located between RM111 and RM253, with genetic distances of 0.7 cM to RM111 and 0.4 cM to RM253. Twenty-two recombinants found in the two populations were assayed with seven more markers located between RM111 and RM253, including six SSR markers and one marker for the C gene candidate, OsCl. The C locus was delimited to a 59.3-kb region in which OsC1 was located.

Quantitative Trait Loci for Panicle Size and Grain Yield Detected in Interval RM111-RM19 784 on the Short Arm of Rice Chromosome 6

A rice residual heterozygous line （RHL） carrying a heterozygous segment extending from RM111 to RM19784 on the short arm of rice chromosome 6 was selected from a RHL-derived population used previously. The resultant F2：3 population was used to detect quantitative trait loci （QTLs） for three yield traits, the number of spikelets per panicle （NSP）, the number of grains per panicle （NGP） and grain yield per plant （GY）. Two QTLs for NSP, one QTL for NGP and one QTL for GY were detected, all of which were partially dominant and had the enhancing alleles from the maternal line Zhenshan 97B. Analysis based on the genotypic groups of the markers closely linked to the two QTLs for NSP indicated that they did not interact with each other. Two F2 populations and two near isogenic line （NIL） sets segregating in two sub-regions of interval RM111-RM19784 were developed. The two QTLs for NSP were validated, of which one had major effect and was co-segregated with heading date gene Hdl, and the other had smaller effect and was located in an upper region linked to Hdl. The two regions also showed significant effects on the number of filled grain and grain yield, although the effect on the number of filled grain was less consistent.

Mapping of qTGW1.1,a Quantitative Trait Locus for 1000-Grain Weight in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

1000-grain weight （ TGW） is one ot the three component traits ot the grain yiela in rice （Oryza sativa L）. This study was conducted to validate and fine-map qTGWl. 1, a minor QTL for TGW which was previously located in a 3.7-Mb region on the long arm of rice chromosome 1. Five sets of near isogenic lines （NILs） were developed from two BC2F4 populations of the indica rice cross Zhenshan 973/Milyang 46 The NIL sets consisted of two homozygous genotypic groups differing in the regions RM11448-RM11522, RM11448-RM11549, RM1232-RM11615, RM11543-RM11554 and RM11569-RM11621, respectively. Four traits, including TGW, grain length, grain width and heading date, were measured. Phenotypic difference between the two genotypic groups in each NIL population was analyzed using SAS procedure GLM. Significant QTL effects were detected on TGW with the Zhenshan 97 allele increasing grain weight by 0.12 g to 0.14 g and explaining 8.30% to 15.19% of the phenotypic variance. Significant effects were also observed for grain length and width, whereas no significant effect was found for heading date. Based on comparison among the five NILs on the segregating regions and the results of QTL analysis, qTGWl. 1 was delimited to a 376.9-kb region flanked by DNA markers Wn28382 and RMl1554. Our results indicate that the effects of minor QTLs could be steadily detected in a highly isogenic background and suggest that such QTLs could be utilized in the breeding of high-yielding rice varieties.