Location: Crops Pathology and Genetics Research
Project Number: 2032-21000-027-001-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jan 1, 2023
End Date: Dec 31, 2023
Objective:
Research will be conducted on the identification and characterization of rice plants with novel productivity and grain quality traits by developing and screening populations of rice mutants, determining the molecular genetic basis for any novel traits identified in those populations, and making germplasm available through ARS rice gene banks. Specific objectives include: 1) Mutant population development and phenotyping by remote sensing; 2) Screening remnant mutant populations for herbicide resistance.
Approach:
1) Mutants from three populations (Nipponbare, Kitaake, and Sabine) will be grown in the U.C. Davis Plant Sciences Row Crop Facility for generation advance, seed production, and agronomic trait evaluation. In objective 1, the most advanced generation of each of three mutant populations will be used (M3 for Nipponbare, M8/9 for Kitaake, and M4 for Sabine). Five hundred lines from each population (single rows, 10 feet (ft) long with 2 ft. spacing between rows and 2 ft. spacing/alleys between row tiers) will be planted by direct seeding or transplanting using a paper pot system. Evaluation of agronomic performance related traits will be conducted. Lines will be evaluated for various agronomic performance traits (i.e., height, tillering, heading date, and panicle traits) and seeds will be harvested to serve as a long-term seed source for trait evaluation including further generation advance and field testing. Remote sensing will be employed to collect multispectral data, which will be used in conjunction with conventional phenotyping to develop and validate methods for more efficient, accurate, and detailed evaluation of rice plants in the field.
For objective 2, remnant mutant populations generated in previous projects (e.g., during development of the Nipponbare, Kitaake, and Sabine mutant populations) will be planted in the field and sprayed with herbicide (e.g., clethodim) to screen for resistant mutants. Putative mutants will be grown to maturity to collect seeds for re-testing in the future. Infertile plants may be transferred to the greenhouse and crossed with wild type plants to try to recover fertile lines for future re-testing.
