Identification of QTLs for cold tolerance at seedling stage in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Rice is a cold sensitive plant. During off-season cultivation this crop experiences cold at seedling stage. The present study was based on 122 RILs in F-13 generation developed by single-seed descent method from a cross between two indica cultivars Danteshwari and Dagad deshi. Screening was conducted during December 2012-January 2013 with seven replications at seedling stage. The genotypes exhibited marked variation for cold tolerance, with an average of 352 score on 1-9 scale and 0.62 broad sense heritability. Genotypic data of this population was developed using 161 SSR markers. A total of 5 QTLs were identified on chromosome 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12. QTL present on chromosome 9 had major effect with LOD value of 9.53 and located between HvSSR 9-7 to HvSSR 9-19. These QTLs will be helpful to facilitate the development of novel cold tolerant cultivars using molecular breeding.