Genetic Diversity and Genetic Changes in the Introgression Lines Derived from Oryza sativa L. Mating with O. rufipogon Griff.

The objectives of the present study were to estimate genetic diversity and genetic changes of introgression lines （ILs） which derived from cultivated rice （Oryza sativa L. cv. Xieqingzao B, XB） mating with common wild rice （O. rufipogon Griff., CWR）. The genetic data of 239 ILs were based on a total of 131 polymorphic microsatellite （SSR） markers distributed across the 12 chromosomes of rice. On average, these ILs possessed 77.1 and 14.31% homozygous bands from XB and CWR, respectively. Most of the ILs were clustered together with XB individual, which was revealed by principal coordinate analysis （PCA） and the program STRUCTURE analysis. The result from PCA demonstrated that some intermediate genotypes between XB and CWR were also found. Moreover, there were some genomic sequence changes including parental bands elimination and novel bands emergence in the ILs. The average Nei＇s gene diversity （He） was 0.296, which was higher than that of cultivated rice. It suggested that interspecific hybridization and gene introgression could broaden the base of genetic variation and lay an important foundation for rice genetic improvement. These different genotypic ILs would provide a better experimental system for understanding the evolution of rice species and the mechanism of alien gene introgression.

Development of Chromosomal Segment Substitution Lines from a Backcross Recombinant Inbred Population of Interspecific Rice Cross

A backcross recombinant inbred line population consisting of 202 lines was developed from Xieqingzao B//Xieqingzao B / Dongxiang wild rice. The population was assayed with DNA markers and phenotyped on planthopper resistance and yield traits. A linkage map consisting of 119 DNA markers and spanned for 1188 cM over the 12 rice chromosomes was constructed. Thirty-two chromosomal segment substitution lines were selected based on the percentage of Xieqingzao B allele at marker loci. These lines are of great potential for gene mapping and alien gene introgression.

Progress of chromosome engineering mediated by asymmetric somatic hybridization

Plant somatic hybridization has progressed steadily over the past 35 years. Many hybrid plants have been generated from fusion combinations of different phylogenetic species, some of which have been utilized in crop breeding programs. Among them, asymmetric hybrid, which usually contains a fraction of alien genome, has received more attention because of its importance in crop improvement. However, few studies have dealt with the heredity of the genome of somatic hybrid for a long time, which has limited the progress of this approach. Over recent ten years, along with the development of an effective cytogenetical tool ＂in situ hybridization （ISH）＂, asymmetric fusion of common wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） with different grasses or cereals has been greatly developed. Genetics, genomes, functional genes and agricultt, ral traits of wheat asymmetric hybrids have been subject to systematic investigations using gene cloning, genomic in situ hybridization （GISH） and molecular makers. The future goal is to fully elucidate the functional relationships among improved agronomic traits, the genes and underlying molecular mechanisms, and the genome dynamics of somatic introgression lines. This will accelerate the development of elite germplasms via somatic hybridization and the application of these materials in the molecular improvement of crop plants.