Application of molecular markers in the breeding of aromatic rice varieties with resistance to bacterial leaf blight

Abstract

From the results of the study, four markers as: ESP, IFAP, INSP, and EAP could be applied to identify the fragrant gene (fgr gene) with the accuracy of 95%; the markers Npp181, RG556, and P3 could be applied to select the Xa4, xa5, and Xa7 genes which control the resistance to bacterial races causing leaf blight on rice plants in the Northern Vietnam with the accuracy of 96, 93, and 97%, respectively. The result of the breeding protocol with the combination of phenotypic selection and MAS to select target genes had released an aromatic rice variety, named HDT10 suitable for late spring and early summer seasons in the Northern Vietnam with major characteristics as follows: Short growth duration (105 days in summer season); 6.0-6.5 tons/ha in yield; good quality and resistance to bacterial leaf blight disease. Through the system of national trials in the Northern provinces of Vietnam since 2015, the HDT10 variety has been released in large-scale production in the Northern Vietnam since 2017.