Genetic Enhancement of Blast and Bacterial Leaf Blight Resistance in Rice Variety CO 51 through Marker-Assisted Selection
Samuthirapandi Subburaj,
Thiyagarajan Thulasinathan,
Viswabharathy Sakthivel,
Bharathi Ayyenar,
Rohit Kambale,
Veera Ranjani Rajagopalan,
Sudha Manickam,
Raghu Rajasekaran,
Gopalakrishnan Chellappan,
Kalaimagal Thiyagarajan,
Manonmani Swaminathan,
Raveendran Muthurajan
Affiliations
Samuthirapandi Subburaj
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Thiyagarajan Thulasinathan
Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Viswabharathy Sakthivel
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Bharathi Ayyenar
Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Rohit Kambale
Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Veera Ranjani Rajagopalan
Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Sudha Manickam
Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Raghu Rajasekaran
Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Gopalakrishnan Chellappan
Department of Rice, Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Kalaimagal Thiyagarajan
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Manonmani Swaminathan
Department of Rice, Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Raveendran Muthurajan
Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
The increased use of chemicals in rice farming poses significant issues regarding the emergence of pesticide/fungicide resistance and environmental sustainability concerns. This study was aimed at the genetic improvement of blast, bacterial leaf blight (BB) and gall midge resistance in a popular rice variety CO 51 which already harbours a blast resistance gene Pi54. Efforts were made to pyramid an additional blast resistance gene Pi9 along with two BB resistance genes (xa13 and Xa21) and two gall midge resistance genes (Gm1 and Gm4) into an elite rice variety CO 51 to enhance the resistance level to biotic stresses. The superior lines were selected using functional markers conferring resistance to blast (NBS4 and Pi54MAS linked to Pi9 and Pi54 genes, respectively) and BB [(xa13Prom (xa13) and pTA248 (Xa21)] and SSR markers linked to Gm1 (RM1328) and Gm4 (RM22550) for phenotypic screening and agronomic evaluation. The genotyping and phenotyping of F6 and BC2F6 progenies of CO 51 X 562-4, for agronomic traits and resistance to BB and blast, identified ten superior progenies in F6 and five superior progenies in BC2F6. The breeding lines harbouring both xa13+Xa21 exhibited high levels of resistance to BB (score ≤ 1 cm) and Pi9+Pi54 exhibited strong resistance to blast (score ≤ 2). Identified lines can be evaluated further for varietal improvement or utilised as genetic stocks in breeding programs.
