Comprehensive Genetic Diversity Revealed in the Prebreeding RIL lines (O. sativa x O. rufipogon) with Enhanced Yield and Pigmented Grain Quality

Subhas Chandra Roy^*Pankaj Shil

• University of North Bengal, Siliguri, India

Developing high-yielding rice varieties (Oryza sativa L.) is critical to ensure global food security. Narrow genetic base in the released rice varieties has make the improvement in plateaus. Considering the potentials of wild rice (Oryza rufipogon), two distinct RIL populations were developed through interspecific hybridization (BWF: Badshabhog x O. rufipogon and CWF: Chenga x O. rufipogon) to increase the genetic base via alien introgression of hidden genes. Genetic diversity was assessed through genetic variability parameters, broad sense heritability, Mahalanobis D2 test, and PCA using 15 agromorphological characteristics which indicated enhanced genetic variation. The first four principal components together accounted for 73.74% of the variability in BWF, and the first six PCs showed 71.90% cumulative variability in CWF (eigen value >1). The broad-sense heritability ranged from 74.42% to 99.87% for all traits in both the RILs. Single plant yield was positively correlated with grain per panicle, 1000 grain weight, grain length and panicle weight. The cluster analysis showed that grain per panicle, grain weight, kernel breadth and plant height were key yield contributing traits. Detection of petunidin 3-O glucoside through HR-LCMS-QTOF indicating that anthocyanin has been synthesized in the black grain RIL lines signifying nutritional improvement. Hence, underutilized wild rice contributed immensely to enhancing the genetic base of the RIL lines, with unusual genetic diversity associated with yield improvement and grain pigmentation. Prebreeding materials are the cornerstone of future rice improvement programs, and our materials can be efficiently utilized to develop resilient, productive, and nutritious pigmented rice varieties.