Gene Validation for Brown Plant Hopper Resistance in Rice Varieties Using SSR Markers

The Brown Plant Hopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Homoptera: Delphacidae) is one of the most destructive insect pests causing significant yield loss in most of the rice cultivars of Asia. Marker-assisted backcrossing is used to introgress the genes for BPH resistance in which the selection of donor parents to confer durable resistance and validation of the presence of genes is a prerequisite. Jyothi the most popular, widely cultivated rice variety in Kerala is screened along with four parental lines viz., PTB33 (Variety released from RARS, Pattambi), IRRI introgressed lines- IR65482-7-216-1-2, IR7103-121-15-B, and a breeding line RP2068-13-5-8 for validating the presence of genes Bph3, BPH18, Bph20, and Bph21 using SSR markers. Parental polymorphism was shown for markers specific to Bph3, BPH18, and Bph20. Besides this, cluster analysis using the UPGMA method produced 4 clusters. The variety ‘PTB33’ was obtained in a separate cluster which can be attributed to its resistant character against BPH and can be considered as a potential donor. The IRRI introgressed lines- IR65482-7-216-1-2, IR7103-121-15-B, and the breeding line RP2068-13-5-8 can also be well utilized as donors by proper standardized BPH screening tests for confirming the phenotypic expression of BPH resistance.