Genetic improvement of eating and cooking quality of rice cultivars in southern China

The genetic improvement of rice eating and cooking quality (ECQ) is an important goal in rice breeding. It is important to understand the genetic regulation of ECQ at the genomic level for effective breeding to improve ECQ. However, the mechanisms underlying the improvement of ECQ of indica and japonica cultivars in southern China remain unclear. In this study, 290 rice cultivars (155 indica and 135 japonica cultivars) bred in southern China in the past 30 years were collected. Physicochemical indicators, namely, apparent amylose content (AAC), protein content (PC), lipid content and taste value, were measured and correlation analysis was performed. A decrease in AAC and PC was a crucial factor for the ECQ improvement of the rice cultivars in southern China. Genome-wide association analysis and selective domestication analysis preliminarily clarified that the comprehensive utilization of major and minor genes was an important genetic basis for improvement of ECQ. An elite allele, RAmy1A^A, with potential application in breeding to improve starch viscosity characteristics and ECQ, was mined. The Wx^b/OsmtSSB1L^T/OsDML4^G/RPBF^T/Du3^T and Wx^b/OsEro1^T/Glup3^G/OsNAC25^G/OsBEIIb^C/RAmy1A^A/FLO12^A gene modules, neither of which have been widely used, are proposed as the optimal allele combinations for ECQ improvement of indica and japonica cultivars in southern China. The results clarify the genetic regulation of rice ECQ improvement in southern China and provide novel genetic resources and breeding strategies for ECQ improvement in rice.