QTL mapping of grain quality traits in rice

Grain quality improvement is one of the most important goals in a rice breeding program. An indica variety with small grain size was crossed to a japonica variety with large grain size to construct a set of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) which was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling eight grain quality traits. Based on a linkage map of 185 SSR markers, a total of 16 QTLs were mapped on six chromosomes. A pleiotropic main effect QTL (M-QTL) flanked by RM3204 and RM16 on chromosome 3 influences the grain length (GL), length width ratio (LWR) and head rice ratio (HRR), explaining the phenotypic variation of 46.0, 36.1 and 29.7%, respectively. A total of 18 epistatic QTLs were identified for all the traits except MRR, distributed on all the chromosomes except chromosome 10. Two M-QTLs for GL and one M-QTL for GW were involved in epistatic QTL. No significant interaction between M-QTL or epistatic QTL and environment was detected except AC having significant M-QTL by environment interaction with minor effect. GL and LWR have a significant negative relation with HRR which might make it difficult to develop long grain with higher HRR in the rice breeding practice.