Genetic effects of Wx allele combinations on apparent amylose content in tropical hybrid rice

Wang, Kai; Zhou, Qunfeng; Liu, Junyu; Qiu, Fulin; dela Paz, Madonna Angelita; Larazo, Wenceslao; Yang, Yuanzhu and Xie, Fangming. 2017. Genetic effects of Wx allele combinations on apparent amylose content in tropical hybrid rice. Cereal Chem, Volume 94 no. 5 p. 887-891

Apparent amylose content (AAC), as one of the most important quality traits of rice grain, is primarily controlled by theWxgene, which encodes a granule‐bound starch synthase. Effects of putative alleles ofWxof tropical rice hybrids generated from parents with three different nonglutinousWxalleles (Wxa,Wxb, andWxin) were examined in a multienvironment trial. Genotypes ofWxb/WxinandWxin/Wxinwere associated with intermediate AAC (20.2–23.7%), and genotype ofWxa/Wxawas associated with high AAC (24.9–28.0%).Wxalleles ofWxin/Wxincould be the most favorable combinations in selecting hybrid parents with desirable intermediate amylose content (20–25%) for rice consumers of South and Southeast Asian countries. Genotype and genotype × environment interaction were the major contributing factors to the variation in parental accessions’ and hybrids’ AAC, and in terms of AAC, hybrids were more sensitive than parental varieties to environment. Genotypes ofWxa/Wxa,Wxa/Wxin, andWxin/Wxinshowed higher AAC performance in the wet season than in the dry season.