Development of gene-tagged molecular markers for starch synthesis-related
genes in rice
Improving grain quality is an important goal in breeding new elite rice varieties,
requiring effective tools for the identification of target genotypes. Molecular
marker-aided selection (MAS), combined with conventional breeding approaches,
enables us to precisely identify the individual genotypes that are associated with
different grain quality features, which can dramatically improve the breeding
efficiency. However, to date, the number of molecular markers used in MAS for grain
quality improvement is still somewhat limited. In this study, based on our previous
study that rice grain quality is strongly associated with starch synthesis in the
endosperm, we developed 51 gene-tagged molecular markers according to sequence
variations in 18 starch synthesis-related genes from 16 typical rice cultivars. These
markers can discriminate the different alleles among rice germplasms. These novel
markers will provide effective tools in improving grain quality via the breeding new
elite rice varieties.