Mapping of genomic regions associated with arsenic toxicity stress in a backcross breeding populations of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Murugaiyan, Varunseelan; Ali, Jauhar; Mahender, Anumalla; Aslam, Umair M.; Jewel, Zilhas Ahmed; Pang, Yunlong; Marfori-Nazarea, Corinne M.; Wu, Lin-Bo; Frei, Michael and Li, Zhikang. 2019. Mapping of genomic regions associated with arsenic toxicity stress in a backcross breeding populations of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Rice, Volume 12, no. 1

Arsenic (As) is an unwanted toxic mineral that threatens the major rice-growing regions in the world, especially in South Asia. Rice production in Bangladesh and India depends on As-contaminated groundwater sources for irrigating paddy fields, resulting in elevated amounts of As in the topsoil. Arsenic accumulating in rice plants has a significant negative effect on human and animal health. Here, we present a quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping study to identify candidate genes conferring As toxicity tolerance and accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings. An early backcross breeding population consisting of 194 lines derived from a cross between WTR1 (indica) and Hao-an-nong (japonica) was grown in hydroponics for 25 days, from the seventh day exposed to an environmentally relevant concentration of 10 ppm As