Development and identification of a introgression line with strong drought resistance at seedling stage derived from Oryza sativa L. mating with Oryza rufipogon Griff.

Drought stress is severely damaging during seedling stage of rice ( Oryza sativa L.), which can lead to significant yield reductions. Dongxiang common wild rice ( Oryza rufipogon Griff., hereafter referred to as DXWR), with strong drought resistance, could be a favorable genetic resource to improve the drought resistance of cultivated rice. Xieqingzao B ( O. sativa L. ssp. indica, hereafter referred to as XB) is a representative maintainer line in hybrid rice breeding system in China. By using DXWR as donor parent, XB as recurrent parent, through continuous selfing, backcrossing and strict drought-resistant screening, we developed a strong and stable drought-resistant introgression line IL395 (BCF), whose ability of drought resistance was significantly increased than that of the recurrent parent XB at the seedling stage. Meanwhile, no significant differences existed among other major agronomic traits under normal condition, except for plant height. Physiological assessment revealed that IL395 exhibited a significant increase in levels of free proline and soluble sugars, which was associated with drought resistance. Whole genome marker analyses identified genomic segments of DXWR linking with RM171 and RM590 (chr. 10) and RM235 (chr. 12) that require further analysis as possible sources of drought resistance trait. These results suggest that DXWR could be a favorable genetic resource to improve the drought resistance of cultivated rice, and the IL395 might be a useful resource for excavating the drought-resistant genes from DXWR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]