[Pyramiding of 3-resistant-gene to improve rice blast resistance of a restorer line, Fuhui 673].

To improve the blast resistance of elite rice restorer line Fuhui 673, 3 blast resistance genes Pi-1, Pi-9 and Pi-kh were introduced into Fuhui 673 from a good-quality restorer line Jinhui 1059 through 3 successive backcrosses followed by one selfing using the technique of marker-assisted selection. Ten near-isogenic lines (NILs) of Fuhui 673 carrying the 3 introduced resistance genes were created. Genotype analysis using 68 SSR markers evenly distributed in the genome indicated that 92.96%-98.59% of the NILs' genetic background had been recovered to Fuhui 673. Both indoor and field resistance tests indicated that the NILs and their hybrids with sterile line Yixiang A were all resistant to rice blast, with resistance levels significantly higher than those of controls Fuhui 673 and hybrid Yiyou 673 (Yixiang A  Fuhui 673). In addition, among the 10 hybrids between the NILs and Yixiang A, 2 showed significantly higher yield than and 4 displayed similar yield to that of control Yiyou 673, suggesting that most of the NILs retained the elite characteristics of Fuhui 673. Two new hybrid rice cultivars Liangyou 7283 and Jintaiyou 683 from NIL Line 9 showed high yield, good resistance to blast and moderate growth period in regional trial, suggesting that the NIL Line 9 has a good prospect for application.

Toward the positional cloning of qBlsr5a, a QTL underlying resistance to bacterial leaf streak, using overlapping sub-CSSLs in rice.

Bacterial leaf steak (BLS) is one of the most destructive diseases in rice. Studies have shown that BLS resistance in rice is quantitatively inherited, controlled by multiple quantitative trait loci (QTLs). A QTL with relatively large effect, qBlsr5a, was previously mapped in a region of ∼ 380 kb on chromosome 5. To fine map qBlsr5a further, a set of overlapping sub-chromosome segment substitution lines (sub-CSSLs) were developed from a large secondary F2 population (containing more than 7000 plants), in which only the chromosomal region harboring qBlsr5a was segregated. By genotyping the sub-CSSLs with molecular markers covering the target region and phenotyping the sub-CSSLs with artificial inoculation, qBlsr5a was delimited to a 30.0-kb interval, in which only three genes were predicted. qRT-PCR analysis indicated that the three putative genes did not show significant response to the infection of BLS pathogen in both resistant and susceptible parental lines. However, two nucleotide substitutions were found in the coding sequence of gene LOC_Os05g01710, which encodes the gamma chain of transcription initiation factor IIA (TFIIAγ). The nucleotide substitutions resulted in a change of the 39th amino acid from valine (in the susceptible parent) to glutamic acid (in the resistant parent). Interestingly, the resistant parent allele of LOC_Os05g01710 is identical to xa5, a major gene resistant to bacterial leaf blight (another bacterial disease of rice). These results suggest that LOC_Os05g01710 is very possibly the candidate gene of qBlsr5a.

Genetic analysis and mapping of gene fzp(t) controlling spikelet differentiation in rice.

A mutant of spikelet differentiation in rice called frizzle panicle (fzp) was discovered in the progeny of a cross between Oryza sativa ssp. indica cv. V20B and cv. Hua1B. The mutant exhibits normal plant morphology but has apparently fewer tillers. The most striking change in fzp is that its spikelet differentiation is completely blocked, with unlimited subsequent rachis branches generated from the positions where spikelets normally develop in wild-type plants. Genetic analysis suggests that fzp is controlled by a single recessive gene, which is temporarily named fzp(t). Based on its mutant phenotype, fzp(t) represents a key gene controlling spikelet differentiation. Some F(2) mutant plants derived from various genetic background appeared as the "middle type", suggesting that the action of fzp(t) is influenced by the presence of redundant, modifier or interactive genes. By using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and bulked segregant analysis (BSA) method, fzp(t) gene was mapped in the terminal region of the long arm of chromosome 7, with RM172 and RM248 on one side, 3.2 cM and 6.4 cM from fzp(t), and RM18 and RM234 on the other side, 23.1 cM and 26.3 cM from fzp(t), respectively. These results will facilitate the positional cloning and function studies of the gene.