A cluster of Ankyrin and Ankyrin-TPR repeat genes is associated with panicle branching diversity in rice.

The number of grains per panicle is an important yield-related trait in cereals which depends in part on panicle branching complexity. One component of this complexity is the number of secondary branches per panicle. Previously, a GWAS site associated with secondary branch and spikelet numbers per panicle in rice was identified.

Genome-wide Association Study of a Panel of Vietnamese Rice Landraces Reveals New QTLs for Tolerance to Water Deficit During the Vegetative Phase.

Background: Drought tolerance is a major challenge in breeding rice for unfavorable environments. In this study, we used a panel of 180 Vietnamese rice landraces genotyped with 21,623 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for different drought response and recovery traits during the vegetative stage. These landraces originate from different geographical locations and are adapted to different agrosystems characterized by contrasted water regimes.

Customization of Artificial MicroRNA Design.

RNAi approaches, including microRNA (miRNA) regulatory pathway, offer great tools for functional characterization of unknown genes. Moreover, the applications of artificial microRNA (amiRNA) in the field of plant transgenesis have also been advanced to engineer pathogen-resistant or trait-improved transgenic plants. Until now, despite the high potency of amiRNA approach, no commercial plant cultivar expressing amiRNAs with improved traits has been released yet.

Genome-wide association mapping for root traits in a panel of rice accessions from Vietnam.

Background: Despite recent sequencing efforts, local genetic resources remain underexploited, even though they carry alleles that can bring agronomic benefits. Taking advantage of the recent genotyping with 22,000 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers of a core collection of 180 Vietnamese rice varieties originating from provinces from North to South Vietnam and from different agrosystems characterized by contrasted water regimes, we have performed a genome-wide association study for different root parameters. Roots contribute to water stress avoidance and are a still underexploited target for breeding purpose due to the difficulty to observe them.

Genes controlling root development in rice.

In this review, we report on the recent developments made using both genetics and functional genomics approaches in the discovery of genes controlling root development in rice. QTL detection in classical biparental mapping populations initially enabled the identification of a very large number of large chromosomal segments carrying root genes. Two segments with large effects have been positionally cloned, allowing the identification of two major genes.

Characterization of a panel of Vietnamese rice varieties using DArT and SNP markers for association mapping purposes.

Background: The development of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in crops has made it possible to mine interesting alleles hidden in gene bank resources. However, only a small fraction of the rice genetic diversity of any given country has been exploited in the studies with worldwide sampling conducted to date. This study presents the development of a panel of rice varieties from Vietnam for GWAS purposes.