The roots of future rice harvests

The authors thank the Global Rice Science Partnership and Agropolis Fondation (Special grant n° 1400–009 and Rhizopolis grant n° 1001–005) benefiting from a national ANR Investissement d’Avenir” grant ANR-10-LABX-001-01) for supporting the workshop. They acknowledge the assistance of Nathalie Pivot, Cirad and Véronique Rafin, INRA in workshop organization. The root research at Cirad and University of Aberdeen is supported by the European Grant (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 289300.27 EURoot “Enhancing resource Uptake from ROOTs under stress in cereal crops”. Research at IRRI is supported by the Generation Challenge Program and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. J.X. is supported by the AcRF Tier 2 grant (MOE2009-T2-1-060) from the Ministry of Education of Singapore and National Research Foundation Singapore under its Competitive Research Programme (CRP Award No. NRF2010 NRF-CRP002-018). Doan Trung Luu is supported by the EU Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship 'ORYZAQUA – Cell Biology of Rice Aquaporins' (PIOF-GA-2011-300150). AP acknowledges the Generation Challenge Programme funded project “Targeting drought avoidance root traits to enhance rice productivity under water limited environments”. Financial support for A.G. Diedhiou was provided by the Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD, VE12/13, CpVIII-Ar4 ) and GRISP. *This paper is dedicated to the late memory of Pr Ping Wu who passed away in a tragic car accident on June 12th, 2014.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Character association and path analysis in bacterial blight resistance genes pyramided segregating populations of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

An exploratory research work was conducted to study the character association and their direct and indirect effects on grain yield in three bacterial blight resistance genes introgressed segregating populations (F2) in rice. Data for yield and five other traits which were component of yield were recorded in 449 F2 individuals in all three crosses. Thousand grain weight was highly correlated with single plant yield in (r=0.95**, p<0.01) CB 174 R × IRBB 60> (r=0.48**, p (r=0.44**, p<0.01) TNAU CMS 2B × IRBB 60. Thousand grain weight was exhibited important yield determining component for CB 174 R × IRBB 60 (0.92) and CB 87 R × IRBB 60 (0.45), and panicle length for (0.39) TNAU CMS 2B × IRBB 60 by direct effect. The genetic information derived from our study could be useful to select potential segregating individual among the F2 population for future rice breeding program

Variability and genetic diversity study in an advanced segregating population of rice with bacterial blight resistance genes introgressed

ABSTRACT Bacterial blight disease of rice caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is one of the most important widespread disease around the globe and can cause severe yield reductions of up to 30% of the total yield. Genetic variability was studied in 54 families of CB 174 R × IRBB 60 rice with bacterial blight resistance genes introgressed at the Department of Rice, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India. Traits such as plant height and the number of productive tillers per plant were found to have negative skewness in this study, indicating the duplication of gene effects. Panicle length and the number of grains per panicle were found to have positive kurtosis, indicating gene interactions. The phenotypic coefficient of variation was slightly higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation for all traits, indicating that the observed variation was not only due to genotypic but also due to the environmental effect on the expression of these traits. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as a percent of the mean was observed for plant height. Moreover, moderate heritability coupled with high genetic advance as a percent of the mean was observed for the single plant yield of rice. Cluster and principal component analyses revealed that the 54 F2:3 families were grouped into three clusters based on six agro-morphological traits. Clusters III and II had higher mean values for most of the studied traits than cluster I. Intercrossing lines from distinct clusters can be identified and crossed to generate larger variability to produce desirable recombinants for higher yield with a wide genetic base

Effectiveness of selection, parent-offspring correlation and regression in bacterial blight resistance genes introgressed rice segregating population

ABSTRACT: The effectiveness of early generation selection was practiced in bacterial blight resistance genes introgressed F2 and F2:3 population of the cross CB 174 R × IRBB 60 in rice. F2 Selection have been proved to be robust and effective tool in crop improvement program. Selection differential was positive for all studied traits. Selection response was high for number of grains, thus indicating the effectiveness of selection for these character. Realized heritability was found high for number of grains and thousand grain weight, suggested that direct selection was effective. Expected selection response and predicted genetic gain was high for number of grains. Parent-offspring correlation showed low but significance association for number of productive tillers (r=0.47**, P<0.01), single plant yield (r=0.35**, P<0.01) and (r=0.30*, P<0.05) panicle length in F2 and F2:3 generation indicates that selection was fruitful in early generation. Statistically regression coefficient was not significant linear dependence of the mean of F2 and F2:3 generation

Genetic enhancement of phosphorus starvation tolerance through marker assisted introgression of OsPSTOL1 gene in rice genotypes harbouring bacterial blight and blast resistance.

Phosphorus (P), an essential macronutrient, is a prerequisite for various plant-growth mechanisms including root establishment/development, early/late vegetative stage development and reproductive stage development. Rice (Oryza sativa) is very sensitive to P starvation. Most cultivated genotypes have poor tolerance levels to P deficiency and consequently the grain yield is severely affected by P starvation. Since P deficiency of soils is a major concern of rice production areas, it is necessary to develop new cultivars with enhanced P tolerance. This is also an expectation of farmers and the Agriculture ministry of southern states of India where rice cultivation is intensive. Our objective was to introgress the phosphorus starvation tolerance (OsPSTOL1) gene through marker-assisted backcross breeding (MABB) in to two intermediate genetic stocks of popular local-varieties namely, ASD 16 and ADT 43 which harbour bacterial blight and blast resistance (R) genes. To delve into the P starvation phenotypic effect, we have generated a set of four backcross inbred lines (BILs) with enhanced P starvation tolerance. The developed BILs showed altered root architecture pattern and greater root surface area with increased P uptake, confirming their adaptability to P deficient soil conditions. Further, a correlation between root traits and low/high P conditions indicates the function of introgressed OsPSTOL1 in BILs. The enhanced root characteristics, therefore, enabled the plants to access and effectively absorb available nutrients from soil. In summary, the unique features of the OsPSTOL1 BILs with bacterial blight and blast resistance can aid varietal development suitable for cultivation in P deficient soils

Risk management of Mycobacterium bovis-infected cattle in herds in high risk areas

Department of Agriculture, Food and the MarineTeagascDeposited by bulk impor