Analysis of the relationship between Wx alleles and some starch quality parameters of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

The usefulness of (CT) n microsatellite markers of Wx gene in rice starch quality improvement is demonstrated in this paper with 36 F 2 plants derived from the cross between Longtefu A (Wx 1 1 Wx 1 1 ) and 371 (Wx 1 8 Wx 1 8 ). The F 2 plants could be divided into three groups according to the microsatellite marker, i.e. that of Wx 1 1 Wx 1 1 group, Wx 1 1 Wx 1 8 group and Wx 1 8 Wx 1 8 group. The F 3 seeds with the same Wx alleles were bulked to test the starch quality parameters which implied that only the Wx allele was different among the bulked samples while the genetic background was identical. Results indicated that all the starch quality parameters including amylose content (AC), gelatinization temperature (GT), gel consistency (GC) and starch paste viscosity parameters were related significantly to the Wx alleles. However, the amylopectin structure of each group had no relation to the Wx allele. This study indicated that early selections in rice breeding based on Wx microsatellite marker would improve the starch quality.