Breeders use DNA markers to make Kerala's favorite rice disease-proof
Crop Improvement
If you've ever grown a favorite vegetable variety only to watch it succumb to disease, this shows how breeders can now fix that flaw without losing the traits that made it a favorite in the first place.
Uma is a beloved red rice variety in Kerala, but it easily catches a bacterial disease called bacterial blight that can wipe out a big chunk of the harvest. Researchers took three resistance genes from a tougher rice variety and carefully bred them into Uma, using genetic markers like a barcode scanner to track exactly which genes made it into each offspring plant. The result is a new rice plant that carries disease resistance while still looking and tasting like the original Uma, with more breeding generations planned to lock in the resistance permanently.
Key Findings
Researchers pyramided three bacterial blight resistance genes (xa5, xa13, Xa21) from resistant variety ISM into elite rice variety Uma using marker-assisted backcross breeding
One BC2F1 plant carried all three resistance genes and had recovered 70.45% of Uma's original genome, retaining Uma's characteristic kernel traits
Separate BC1F2 lines were field-screened and showed resistance to moderate resistance against the bacterial blight pathogen using the leaf-clipping method
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists bred disease resistance genes from a hardy rice variety into 'Uma,' a popular but disease-vulnerable red rice from Kerala, using DNA marker technology to speed up the process while keeping Uma's prized grain qualities intact.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Marker-assisted Pyramiding of Bacterial Blight Resistance Genes into ‘Uma’, an Elite Red Rice Variety of Kerala
Background: Uma is a high-yielding, popular red-kernelled rice variety of Kerala; however, the occurrence of BB disease often causes severe yield reductions in this cultivar. Host plant resistance ...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Red rice is rice that is colored red due to natural anthocyanin content. It is usually eaten unpolished or partially polished and has a red bran layer, rather than the more common pale brown. Red rice has a nutty flavor. It has the highest nutritional value among rices eaten with the bran intact.