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An Assignment

On
‘Importance of Molecular Breeding in Rice’

AGR457: Molecular Genetics & Breeding

Submitted by

Mahmude Hasan Shovon

Registration ID: 16AGR019
Session: 2016-2017

Department of Agriculture

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science & Technology University

Gopalganj-8100, Bangladesh
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Background :

Molecular breeding (MB) may be defined in a broad sense as the use of genetic manipulation
performed at DNA molecular levels to improve characters of interest in plants and animals,
including genetic engineering or gene modification, molecular marker-assisted selection, genomic
selection etc. Molecular breeding of rice for high yield, superior grain quality and strong
environmental adaptability is crucial for feeding the world’s rapidly growing population. The
increasingly cloned quantitative trait loci and genes, genome variations, and haplotype blocks
related to agronomically important traits in rice have provided a solid foundation for direct
selection and molecular breeding, and a number of genes have been successfully introgressed into
mega varieties of rice. The great achievements in molecular breeding of rice in the following five
traits: high yield, biotic stress resistance, abiotic stress resistance, quality and physiology.
Rice is one of the most important staple crops in the world and serves as a model for monocots.
In rice breeding, two breakthroughs have been made in the last century. The first breakthrough is
the development of a semi-dwarf rice variety, which raised rice yield by more than 20 % per unit
area; the second breakthrough is the development of a hybrid rice variety with the three-line or
cytoplasmic male sterile system, which led to another great increase in average rice yield by
20%.

Molecular breeding basic requirements :

It involves marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genetic engineering breeding (GEB).

Compensating the deficiencies of conventional breeding, molecular markers designed for direct
genotypic identification are unrestricted to the ontogenetic periods of plants and can be used to
select target traits directly. MAS involves four steps: overall program design, selection of target
genes and parental materials, construction of breeding populations, and molecular marker
screening of early generation materials. The breeding process of MAS is similar to that of
conventional breeding, except that in the former method, molecular marker detection is involved
in every breeding generation on the basis of conventional phenotypic identification. GEB of rice
mainly involves in vitro recombination of a specific target gene with the transformation vector,
followed by transferring into rice for stable integration, expression, and heredity. This breeding
method avoids the impacts of adverse genes caused by genetic linkage in the process of sexual
hybridization and gets rid of reproductive isolation between different rice cultivars. Therefore,
GEB provides an efficient way for cultivating new rice varieties.

Significant features :

1. Molecular breeding for high yield

High yield is the eternal theme pursued by rice breeders. Super rice breeding in the model of ideal
plant architecture using molecular design is the mainstream of future development in this field.
Yield-related traits in rice include plant height, tiller number, grain weight, and panicle type. Of
these, plant height is the most important trait related to plant architecture and linearly correlates
with biomass. Panicle number, which consists of planting density and effective tiller number, is a
major influencing factor of the total grain production per unit area. Panicle characters are directly
linked with the yield of rice.
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2. Resistance to Disease
The RES Rice Breeding Program is continuing efforts to improve disease resistance in our
California varieties. Evaluation and screening for stem rot and sheath spot resistance will be
conducted by the plant pathologist on segregating populations, advanced breeding lines, and
current varieties. Rice blast disease presents an additional threat to California. Research and
breeding activities to address rice blast to develop improved blast resistant varieties will continue.
Materials from backcrossing efforts to transfer disease resistance have been transferred to the
breeding projects for evaluation. New resistant sources and foreign germplasm will continue to be
evaluated as potential parental material. Foreign germplasm will be introduced through quarantine
for use in breeding and research.

3. Quality
Efforts to identify, select, and improve culinary and milling quality in all grain types will continue
to receive major emphasis. Improved cooking evaluation techniques are being used that include
use for DNA markers for amylose content, gelatinization temperature, and RVA profiles. The RES
quality lab is being renovated to support quality evaluation and research for variety development.

4. Tolerance to Low Temperature

Tolerance to low temperature remains an essential character needed at seedling and reproductive
stage in California rice varieties. Segregating populations and advanced experimental lines will
continue to be screened in the San Joaquin nursery for resistance to blanking, normal vegetative
growth, a minimum delay in maturity, and uniform grain maturity. Selection at UCD has been
discontinued due to concerns about adjacent UC research activities. Cold tolerance data will
include two seeding dates of advanced material at RES, UCCE Statewide Yield Tests, refrigerated
greenhouse tests, and data from cold tolerance and the Hawaii winter nurseries.

5. Lodging and Maturity

Improved lodging resistance will receive continued emphasis in all stages of variety development.
Efforts will continue to develop improved varieties that have a range of maturity dates with major
emphasis placed on early, very early maturity, synchronous heading, and uniformity of ripening.

Molecular breeding improves life science research:

For a developing nations to become beneficiaries of this technology concerted efforts from local
governance, private companies and international communities is required by making the
technology affordable and accessible to developing world researchers. The empowered researchers
can contribute efficiently towards addressing major United Nations new Sustainable
Development Goals such as: sustainable food system, health and wellbeing, climate restoration,
and economic growth through partnership for a common goal.
In most cases,geneticists and breeders are mainly exploiting genomic selection strategies for more
efficient marker assisted crop improvement. For instance marker assisted breeding technique was
used to integrate eight QTLs markers for improving grain weight and spikelet number per panicle
into a single genetic background; four blast resistance genes into Thai rice; and three drought yield
QTLs, qDTY2.2, qDTY3.1, and qDTY12.1 into Malaysian rice.