ARS | Publication request: qSD7-1 is the first dormancy QTL cloned from weedy rice (Oryza sativa)

Submitted to: Weed Science Society of America Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: October 3, 2007
Publication Date: February 1, 2008
Citation: Foley, M.E., Gu, X., Anderson, J.V., Horvath, D.P. 2008. qSD7-1 is the first dormancy QTL cloned from weedy rice (Oryza sativa). Meeting Abstract. Weed Science Society of America Meeting Abstracts. Presentation 188.

Technical Abstract: We developed weedy rice (SS-18-2) as a genetic system to investigate mechanisms regulating natural variation in seed dormancy. This included introduction of a set of quantitative trait loci (QTL) enhancing seed dormancy into the non-dormant genetic background of cultivated rice (EM93-1) to clone and characterize the underlying genes. We focused on qSD7-1, the QTL associated with the red pericarp/testa color trait. A high-resolution map and a progeny test for seed dormancy of the selected recombinants demonstrated that qSD7-1 is the Os07g11020 locus, a predicted basic helix-loop-helix (OsbHLH017) transcription factor. We obtained one rare intragenic recombinant for the Os07g11020 locus and developed isogenic lines for the dormancy and non-dormancy alleles. The genomic region for the predicted gene was cloned from wild and mutant parents and the dormant isogenic line. A 14-bp deletion in the segment accounted for the natural variation in seed dormancy, which was also confirmed with cDNA sequences cloned from seed and leaf tissues of the dormant and non-dormant isogenic lines. We conclude that qSD7-1 has pleiotropic effects on seed dormancy, red pericarp color, and grain weight. The pleiotropic effects enhance the adaptability of weedy rice.