Genotypic Differences in Selenium Accumulation in Rice Seedlings at Early Growth Stage and Analysis of Dominant Factors Influencing Selenium Content in Rice Seeds

Abstract

ABSTRACT The paper deals with the selenium (Se) accumulation of different genotypes of rice (Oryza sativa Japonica) seedlings at early growth stage and its correlation with the Se content in grains in 151 rice varieties. A field trial showed the Se content in brown rice to range from 29 μg/kg to 103 μg/kg. The results from hydroponic culture with representative varieties of high-, moderate- and low-Se content showed that total Se values for the high-Se genotypes were markedly higher than those of the low-Se varieties. This was true of Se content of the whole plant, Se content of shoots, biomass of shoots, and rate of Se accumulation in shoots. There were, however, no significant differences in values for total Se in roots, rate of accumulation in roots, and biomass of roots between high- and low-Se groups. Selenium content in brown rice was positively correlated with the total Se of the whole plant, shoot, and biomass of shoots. We concluded that the total Se transported from roots to shoots was more important than other factors in Se accumulation and content in brown rice.