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.