Selection of wide compatible restorer lines and their application in hybrid rice breeding

Since the middle of 1980’s, wide compatibility(WC) rice lines have been screened by ricebreeders in China and applied in hybrid ricebreeding program. Several WC lines such asPecos, T984, Lunhui 422, and 02428 withideal agronomic characters were identified. Weincorporated the WC gene into restorer linesby crossing these japonica WC lines with ob-tained indica lines. Some WC restorer lineswith indica-japonica medium type were ob-tained and their application value in intersub-specific hybrid rice breeding were evaluated. 1. Effect of crossing methods on selectionefficiencies of WC restorer lines

A historical review of hybrid rice breeding

The development of germplasm resources and advances in breeding methods have led to steady increases in yield and quality of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Three milestones in the recent history of rice breeding have contributed to these increases: dwarf rice breeding, hybrid rice breeding, and super rice breeding. On the 50th anniversary of the success of three-line hybrid rice,we highlight important scientific discoveries in rice breeding that were made by Chinese scientists and summarize the broader history of the field. We discuss the strategies that could be used in the future to optimize rice breeding further in the hope that China will continue to play a leading role in international rice breeding.

SAR-3——a resource of diploid true breeding hybrid rice

In 1988, we found strain 9003 from compositehybridization of indica and japonica. 9003 pos-sesses characteristics of twin seedlings withfrequency of 15-20% of the investigated popu-lation. The highest frequency was 45.68%.Afterwards, we discovered that some twinseedlings had variabilities in chromosome set.As to a pair of twin plants, it may be 2n-1n,2n-3n, 3n-3n or 1n-1n. The changes in chro-mosome set also occurred in the plants devel-oped from mono-embryo seeds. All of thesevariants nearly account for 1% in our con-trolled experiment. We named the triploidplants SAR-3 and found that SAR-3 could be aresource of diploid true breeding hybrid rice.

Utilization of Aromatic Rice in Improving Grain Quality of Hybrid Rice(Ⅰ)

To improve grain quality of the high-yielding hybrid rice in China, we introduced the aromatic rice MR365, an improved Indian cultivar, from IRRI in 1984 and began to transfer its aroma and good quality characters into the existing maintainer lines. In the meantime, the research on the inheritance of aroma for increasing the breeding efficiency was also conducted.It was found that the inheritance of aroma in MR 365 and its derivatives was controlled by one pair of recessive major genes based on the KOH-soaking method. There existed disparity in aroma degree among different grains of F2 generation, and different aromatic CMS lines derived from the same aromatic donor had also a little difference in the degree of aroma, which implies that, besides the major genes, aroma may also be affected by the genetic backgrounds or minor genes.Xiangxiang 2A, developed from the cross of V20A//V20B/MR365, is the first aromatic CMS line bred in China. It is not only aromatic but also has good grain quality and combining ability. Using it as female parent, Xiangyou 63 (Xiangxiang 2A / Minghui 63), the first quasi-aromatic hybrid rice combination in China, was developed, and released to farmers in 1995. Xiangyou 63 is characteristic of quasi-aromatic or partially aromatic (because only a portion of or not all grains are aromatic), good grain quality, high-yielding ability, good blast resistance and wide adaptability.

Utilization of aromatic rice in improving grain quality of hybrid rice(Ⅱ)

Xiangxiang 2A has an evident drawback, i.e., instability in male sterility under higher temperature conditions resulting from the existence of minor restoring genes in it, which greatly hampered the extension of its elite hybrid Xiangyou 63 with both high yield and fine quality in commercial production. To improve Xiangxiang 2A, the hybridization of Xiangxiang 2B with V20 B was made again in 1990. A new aromatic CMS line Xinxiang A was successfully developed in 1994. It not only retains the favorable characteristics of Xiangxiang 2A in grain quality and combining ability, but also expresses complete and stable male sterility and high seed production yield potential. Up to now, by using it as female parent, a series of quasi aromatic hybrids have been developed. Some of them have been released to farmers. Because such hybrids can not only yield higher or as high as but also possess a better grain quality than the current common high yielding hybrid rice varieties,so that they are preferred and well welcome by the farmers in China. The planting area under these hybrids is increasing rapidly in China.

Understanding the genetic and molecular constitutions of heterosis for developing hybrid rice

The wide adoption of hybrid rice has greatly increased rice yield in the last several decades.The utilization of heterosis facilitated by male sterility has been a common strategy for hybrid rice development.Here,we summarize our efforts in the genetic and molecular understanding of heterosis and male sterility together with the related progress from other research groups.Analyses of F1 diallel crosses show that strong heterosis widely exists in hybrids of diverse germplasms,and inter-subspecific hybrids often display higher heterosis.Using the elite hybrid Shanyou 63 as a model,an immortalized F2 population design is conducted for systematic characterization of the biological mechanism of heterosis,with identification of loci controlling heterosis of yield and yield component traits.Dominance,overdominance,and epistasis all play important roles in the genetic basis of heterosis;quantitative assessment of these components well addressed the three classical genetic hypotheses for heterosis.Environment-sensitive genic male sterility(EGMS)enables the development of two-line hybrids,and long noncoding RNAs often function as regulators of EGMS.Inter-subspecific hybrids show greatly reduced fertility;the identification and molecular characterization of hybrid sterility genes offer strategies for overcoming inter-subspecific hybrid sterility.These developments have significant implications for future hybrid rice improvement using genomic breeding.