Genetic analysis and gene mapping of the glabrous leaf and hull mutant glr3 in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

We obtained a glabrous leaf and hull mutant from a population of radiation mutagenesis of an indica rice cultivar R401. The mutant produced smooth leaves and hairless glumes under normal growth conditions. An F2 population was developed from a cross between a japonica cultivar Nipponbare and the glabrous leaf and hull mutant. By investigating the performance of the F2 population, we found that the mutant phenotype was controlled by a single recessive gene, temporarily designated GLR3. Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) based on the F2 mapping population revealed that GLR3 is located on chromosome 6. By analyzing 417 typical glabrous leaf F2 plants using molecular markers, GLR3 was mapped to a 0.2 cM interval between InDel markers ID27101 and ID27199, and the physical distance between the two markers is 98 kb. Thus we have mapped the gene GLR3, and our work will provide basis for future mechanistic analysis of GLR3 function.