Pyramiding of Pi46 and Pita to improve blast resistance and to evaluate the resistance effect of the two R genes

Utilization of R（resistance） genes to develop resistant cultivars is an effective strategy to combat against rice blast disease. In this study, R genes Pi46 and Pita in a resistant accession H4 were introgressed into an elite restorer line Hang-Hui-179（HH179） using the marker-assisted backcross breeding（MABB） procedure. As a result, three improved lines（e.g., R1791 carrying Pi46 alone, R1792 carrying Pita alone and R1793 carrying both Pi46 and Pita） were developed. The three improved lines had significant genetic similarities with the recurrent parent HH179. Thus, they and HH179 could be recognized as near isogenic lines（NILs）. The resistance spectrum of the three improved lines, which was tested at seedling stage, reached 91.1, 64.7 and 97.1%, respectively. This was markedly broader than that of HH179（23.5%）. Interestingly, R1793 showed resistance to panicle blast but neither R1791 nor R1792 exhibited resistance at two natural blast nurseries. The results implied that the stacking of Pi46 and Pita resulted in enhanced resistance, which was unachievable by either R gene alone. Further comparison indicated that the three improved lines were similar to HH179 in multiple agronomic traits; including plant height, tillers per plant, panicle length, spikelet fertility, and 1 000-grain weight. Thus, the three improved lines with different R genes can be used as new sources of resistance for developing variety. There is a complementary effect between the two R genes Pi46 and Pita.

Genetic Transformation of Rice with Pi-d2 Gene Enhances Resistance to Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae

The gene Pi-d2, conferring gene-for-gene resistance to the Chinese blast strain ZB15, was isolated from a rice variety （Digu） by the map-based cloning strategy. Here, we constructed a control plasmid pZH01-pi-d2tp309 （pZH01-tp309） and three different expression constructs, pCB-Pi-d25.3kb （pCB5.3kb）, pCB-Pi-d26.3kb （pCB6.3kb） and pZH01-Pi-d22.72kb （pZH01-2.72kb） of Pi-d2, driven by Pi-d2 gene’s own promoter or CaMV35S promoter. These constructs were separately introduced into japonica rice varieties Lijiangxintuanhegu, Taipei 309, Nipponbare and Zhonghua 9 through Agrobacterium- mediated transformation. A total of 150 transgenic rice plants were obtained from the regenerated calli selected on hygromycin. PCR, RT-PCR and Southern-blotting assay showed that the gene of interest had been integrated into rice genome and stably inherited. Thirty-five transgenic lines independently derived from T1 progeny were inoculated with the rice blast strain ZB15. Transformants exhibited resistance to rice blast at various levels. The lesions on the transgenic plant leaves were less severe than those on the controls and the resistance level of transgenic plants harboring the gene of interest from three vectors had no difference. The own promoter of Pi-d2, about 2.2 kb or 3.2 kb, had the similar promoter function as CaMV35S. Field evaluation for three successive years supported the results of artificial trial, and some lines with high resistance to rice leaf blast and neck blast were obtained.

Development of Hybrid Rice Variety FY7206 with Blast Resistance Gene Pid3 and Cold Tolerance Gene Ctb1

Hybrid rice Fanyou 7206（FY7206）, derived from the cross between a sterile line Fanyuan A and a restorer line Fuhui 7206, was bred by the Rice Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China. FY7206 was characterized by moderate blast resistance, cold tolerance, as well as wide adaptability, and high yields. The blast resistance results indicated that the frequencies of blast races in race B, race C and the total resistance frequency for FY7206 were 95.5%, 100.0% and 97.2%, respectively. The disease resistance results showed that the leaf blast grade for FY7206 was level 1 and panicle blast was level 5. The indoor spray results indicated that FY7206 was resistant to 11 isolates of Magnorpathe oryzae. The blast resistance of FY7206 might be derived from the high expression of blast resistance gene Pid3. The results for simulated cold resistance in an artificial climate chamber indicated that the cold tolerance for FY7206 was moderate at the booting and flowering stages. The cold tolerance results also indicated that FY7206 could be tolerant to temperatures as low as 10 °C at the seedling stage. The q RT-PCR results showed that the expression of cold tolerance gene Ctb1 in FY7206 was relatively high. These results suggested that FY7206 is a hybrid indica rice variety with good comprehensive characteristics, including blast resistance and cold tolerance.