Molecular Screening of Blast Resistance Genes in Rice Germplasms Resistant to Magnaporthe oryzae

Molecular screening of major rice blast resistance genes was determined with molecular markers, which showed close-set linkage to 11 major rice blast resistance genes（Pi-d2, Pi-z, Piz-t, Pi-9, Pi-36, Pi-37, Pi5, Pi-b, Pik-p, Pik-h and Pi-ta2）, in a collection of 32 accessions resistant to Magnaporthe oryzae. Out of the 32 accessions, the Pi-d2 and Pi-z appeared to be omnipresent and gave positive express. As the second dominant, Pi-b and Piz-t gene frequencies were 96.9% and 87.5%. And Pik-h and Pik-p gene frequencies were 43.8% and 28.1%, respectively. The molecular marker linkage to Pi-ta2 produced positive bands in eleven accessions, while the molecular marker linkage to Pi-36 and Pi-37 in only three and four accessions, respectively. The natural field evaluation analysis showed that 30 of the 32 accessions were resistant, one was moderately resistant and one was susceptible. Infection types were negatively correlated with the genotype scores of Pi-9, Pi5, Pi-b, Pi-ta2 and Pik-p, although the correlation coefficients were very little. These results are useful in identification and incorporation of functional resistance genes from these germplasms into elite cultivars through marker-assisted selection for improved blast resistance in China and worldwide.

Genetic Diversity Analysis of Rice Germplasm in Tripura State of Northeast India Using Drought and Blast Linked Markers

We genotyped 74 rice germplasms including Tripura＇s local landraces, improved varieties, cultivars and breeding lines and other rice varieties using molecular markers for genetic diversity, drought QTLs, and blast resistance genes. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 5 with an average of 2.9. The polymorphic information content value per locus ranged from 0.059（RM537） to 0.755（RM252） with an average of 0.475. Cluster analysis based on 30 simple sequence repeat markers revealed 5 clusters and also indicated the presence of variability within the rice accessions. The drought QTL q DTY2.1 was found in 56.0% of germplasms and q DTY1.1 was detected in only 6.8% of the germplasms. Out of seven rice blast resistance genes screened, only two rice varieties, RCPL-1-82 and Buh Vubuk（Lubuk）, were positive for four blast resistance genes while only Releng possessed two blast resistance genes. Among 74 rice germplasms, only three accessions, Releng, RCPL1-82 and Buh Vubuk（Lubuk）, possessed both drought-related QTLs and blast resistance genes. Overall, the 74 indigenous rice genotypes showed low level of genetic diversity, which is in contrast to high level of genetic diversity among rice varieties in northeast India, where highlights the good farming practice, conservation of germplasms and the limitation of molecular markers employed in this study. The presence of both drought related QTLs and blast resistance genes in some of the germplasms can be useful in future breeding programmes.