Identification of stably expressed quantitative trait loci for cooked rice elongation in non-Basmati varieties

The elongation of the cooked grain determines the cooking and eating quality of Basmati rice. The identification of stable quantitative trait loci (QTLs), especially those from non-Basmati types, will extend the genetic basis of the Basmati type and facilitate the breeding of high-quality varieties. A set of recombinant inbred lines derived from an indica × japonica hybrid was used to identify QTLs controlling the elongation ratio (ER), elongation index (EI), and water absorption (WA) of the cooked grain. Three ER QTLs on chromosomes 2, 4, and 12, two EI QTLs on chromosomes 2 and 5, and two WA QTLs on chromosomes 2 and 6 were detected. Four of these QTLs were validated using a set of established chromosome segment substitution lines. The genetic effect of qER-2 was explored in an analysis of segregating generations, using 8 newly developed simple sequence repeat markers. Two tightly linked loci (qER-2a and qER-2b) were identified on chromosome 2.