Genomic-Assisted Breeding Tools for Grain and Nutritional Quality Improvement in Rice
Biswaranjan Patra
Center for Biotechnology, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar-751003, Odisha, India .
Prasanta Kumar Majhi *
Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Regional Research and Technology Transfer Station, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Keonjhar-758002, Odisha, India.
Swagat Kumar Tripathy
Center for Biotechnology, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar-751003, Odisha, India .
Sourav Priyadarsi Tripathy
Center for Biotechnology, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar-751003, Odisha, India .
Afreen Khan
Center for Biotechnology, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar-751003, Odisha, India .
Partha Pratim Behera
Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India.
S. Das
Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Regional Research and Technology Transfer Station, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Keonjhar-758002, Odisha, India.
Ayaz Ahamad
Biosciences Group, Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400094, Maharashtra, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
More than half of the world’s population consumes rice as a staple food in their diet. Rice grain quality is receiving attention from both consumers and producers as living standards in rice-consuming regions has improved and this emerged as a critical rice breeding target. Grain quality traits have a strong influence on the market value of rice and the adoption of new varieties by farmers. Consumer preferences for specific nutritional, physical, eating, and cooking characteristics are at the root of these. Uniform grain width, length, colour (translucence or whiteness), and chalkiness are all desirable physical properties. Cooking and eating (organoleptic) characteristics such as; cooking time (gelatinization temperature and viscosity), the ability of rice to remain soft after cooking (gel consistency), and textural properties of cooked rice (amylose content and aroma) are also very important. Plant breeders are always working hard to meet these demands by developing new rice varieties. The genomics era provides many opportunities to assist breeders in addressing these challenges. While not complete, our understanding of the genetic basis underlying many grain quality traits is expanding. There have been reports of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling grain appearance, chalkiness, protein content, and grain length. Genomic-assisted Breeding techniques such as marker-assisted selection, QTL mapping, genome editing, genome wide association studies, and genetic engineering can provide further a better understanding of the genetic basis and thus help to improve rice grain nutritional quality traits.
Keywords: Genetic engineering, genome editing, genomic-assisted breeding, marker-assisted selection, nutritional quality, QTL mapping, rice