Global rice production is increasing but there is diversity in productivity across Asia, with some regions suffering yield losses from disease, adverse weather and insufficient irrigation. There is opportunity for breeders to improve both abiotic and biotic stress response with an optimised approach for their varieties in the region.
For over a decade many breeders have relied on microsatellites (SSRs) for marker aided selection in rice, yet these markers are costly and time-consuming to use. Recent advances in whole genome sequencing have strengthened our knowledge of Indels and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), and currently there are far more SNPs and Indels available than SSRs. We have developed KASP™ (Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR) assays for markers across rice breeding lines in South Asia and facilitated the use of these markers by public and private sector rice breeders to enhance selection for target traits.
This project has led to 33 entries that are now being evaluated in pre-release yield trials in Nepal, along with a set of KASP assays that can be readily used for efficient and accurate genotyping in rice breeding programmes.
