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Updated: Jun 27, 2026
06:10
Identifying Mutations by High Resolution Melting in a TILLING Population of Rice
Published on: September 2, 2019
Genome-wide association mapping for phenotypic plasticity in rice
Shinji Kikuchi1, Raju Bheemanahalli2,3, Krishna S V Jagadish2,3
1Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, 3-18-8 Ueda, Morioka, Iwate, 020-8550, Japan.
Plant, Cell & Environment
|April 4, 2017
Summary
Planting density changes reveal genetic variations in rice (Oryza sativa L.) for phenotypic plasticity. This research identifies key alleles (qER1-3) enhancing yield in resource-rich environments, crucial for crop adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Plant genetics and breeding
- Agricultural science
- Climate change adaptation
Background:
- Phenotypic plasticity is vital for plant adaptation to environmental shifts, including climate change.
- Research has underutilized phenotypic plasticity's potential in resource-rich conditions to boost crop productivity.
- Indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) offers a model for studying genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate genetic variation for phenotypic plasticity in indica rice populations.
- To identify genetic factors controlling rice response to resource-rich environments.
- To understand how phenotypic plasticity can enhance agricultural crop productivity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two diverse indica rice populations: Phenomics of Rice Adaptation and Yield (PRAY) and Multi-parent Advanced Generation Inter-Cross (MAGIC).
- Employed altered planting density as a proxy for elevated atmospheric CO2 response.
- Conducted genome-wide-association studies (GWAS) to identify candidate alleles for environmental responsiveness.
Main Results:
- Low planting density significantly increased panicle weight per plant across both populations.
- Identified three Environmental Responsiveness (ER) candidate alleles (qER1-3) associated with panicle weight response to low density.
- Confirmed the role of two ER alleles in biomass response under elevated CO2 conditions.
Conclusions:
- Genetic polymorphisms significantly influence rice phenotypic plasticity in resource-abundant environments.
- Identified candidate alleles (qER1-3) provide targets for breeding rice varieties with enhanced yield potential.
- This study highlights the importance of exploiting phenotypic plasticity for improving crop productivity under future environmental conditions.
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