1. Harnessing the hidden genetic diversity for improving multiple abiotic stress tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.)
- Author
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Neil Johann Franje, Li-Jun Meng, Yong-Sheng Guan, Yong-Ming Gao, Mei-Rong Xu, Yunlong Pang, Jian-Long Xu, Xiu-Fang Ma, Jauhar Ali, Ying Wang, Jastin Edrian Revilleza, Zhikang Li, and Shao-Chuan Zhou
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Salinity ,Agricultural Irrigation ,Introgression ,Philippines ,lcsh:Medicine ,Plant Science ,Physical Chemistry ,01 natural sciences ,Geographical Locations ,Plant Resistance to Abiotic Stress ,lcsh:Science ,Abiotic component ,Multidisciplinary ,Ecology ,Chromosome Mapping ,food and beverages ,Agriculture ,Salt Tolerance ,Plants ,Agricultural Methods ,Adaptation, Physiological ,Droughts ,Chemistry ,Phenotype ,Experimental Organism Systems ,Plant Physiology ,Physical Sciences ,Research Article ,Genetic Markers ,Evolutionary Processes ,Asia ,Quantitative Trait Loci ,Biology ,Quantitative trait locus ,Research and Analysis Methods ,Oryza ,03 medical and health sciences ,Plant and Algal Models ,Plant-Environment Interactions ,Plant Defenses ,Grasses ,Plant breeding ,Crosses, Genetic ,Selection (genetic algorithm) ,Evolutionary Biology ,Genetic diversity ,Drought ,Abiotic stress ,Plant Ecology ,Ecology and Environmental Sciences ,lcsh:R ,Organisms ,Genetic Variation ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Plant Pathology ,biology.organism_classification ,030104 developmental biology ,Chemical Properties ,Agronomy ,Seedlings ,People and Places ,lcsh:Q ,Rice ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
To develop superior rice varieties with improved yield in most rainfed areas of Asia/Africa, we started an introgression-breeding program for simultaneously improving yield and tolerances of multiple abiotic stresses. Using eight BC1 populations derived from a widely adaptable recipient and eight donors plus three rounds of phenotypic selection, we developed 496 introgression lines (ILs) with significantly higher yield under drought, salt and/or non-stress conditions in 5 years. Six new varieties were released in the Philippines and Pakistan and many more are being evaluated in multi-location yield trials for releasing in several countries. Marker-facilitated genetic characterization revealed three interesting aspects of the breeding procedure: (1) the donor introgression pattern in specific BC populations was characteristic; (2) introgression frequency in different genomic regions varied considerably, resulting primarily from strong selection for the target traits; and (3) significantly lower heterozygosity was observed in BC progenies selected for drought and salinity tolerance. Applying strong phenotypic selection under abiotic stresses in early segregating generations has major advantages for not only improving multiple abiotic stress tolerance but also achieving quicker homozygosity in early generations. This breeding procedure can be easily adopted by small breeding programs in developing countries to develop high-yielding varieties tolerant of abiotic stresses. The large set of trait-specific ILs can be used for genetic mapping of genes/QTL that affect target and non-target traits and for efficient varietal development by designed QTL pyramiding and genomics-based recurrent selection in our Green Super Rice breeding technology.
- Published
- 2017