Improvement of bacterial blight resistance of hybrid rice in China using the Xa23 gene derived from wild rice ( Oryza rufipogon)

Abstract

A novel bacterial blight (BB) resistance gene, Xa23, identified from Oryza rufipogon was introgressed into three popular restorer lines (Minghui63, YR293 and Y1671) for wild abortive cytoplasmic male sterility by marker-assisted backcross breeding approach in combination with artificial inoculation and stringent phenotypic selections. The three derived BB resistant restorer lines (Minghui63– Xa23, YR293– Xa23 and Y1671– Xa23) and their hybrid combinations with Zhenshan97A (Shanyou63– Xa23), NongfengA (Fengyou293– Xa23) and Zhong9A (Zhongyou1671– Xa23) demonstrated similar BB resistance spectrum as the donor parent, CBB23 (B). The newly developed BB resistant restorers and their derived hybrids were identical to their respective original versions for agronomic traits especially under disease free condition. However, under severe disease condition, the three BB resistant restorer lines exhibited significantly higher grain weight and spikelet fertility as compared to the respective original restorer lines thus further resulting in BB resistant hybrids with significantly higher grain yields than their respective popular original hybrids. The results indicated that the Xa23 gene could completely express its dominant broad spectrum resistance in different backgrounds of both restorer and male sterile lines across different growth stages, suggesting its immense breeding value in BB resistance improvement for hybrid rice. Moreover, a reasonable utilization and deployment of Xa23 gene for efficient control of BB disease in hybrid rice production was recommended.