ABSTRACT
A recombinant inbred (RI) population derived from the cross between an indica variety, IR24, and a japonica variety, Asominori, was used to map QTLs controlling leaf chlorophyll content (LCC) and chlorophyll degradation speed (CDS) of detached leaves collected at the tillering stage of rice through composite interval mapping analysis (CIM). Resultantly, four QTLs (qLCC-3, qLCC-5, qLCC-7, qLCC-12) controlling LCC and three QTLs (qCDS-1, qCDS-6, qCDS-7) associated with CDS were detected respectively. Among them, qCDS-7 with the largest effect for CDS, located on chromosome 7, coincided with the genomic region of qLCC-7 for LCC detected. Those results from this study basically can explicate the genetic basis associated with leaf chlorophyll content and chlorophyll degradation speed of detached leaves in rice, which might be available for a rapid determination of leaf senescence at early growth-stages and breeding of high-photosynthetic efficiency in rice.