Genetic Analysis and Mapping of Genes Involved in Fertility of Pingxiang Dominant Genic Male Sterile Rice

Pingxiang dominant genic male sterile rice (PDGMSR) was the first dominant genic male sterile mutant identified in rice (Oryza sativa L.), and the corresponding dominant genic male sterile gene was designated as Ms-p. The fertility of PDGMSR can be restored by introduction of a dominant epistatic fertility restoring gene in some rice varieties. In the present study, E823, an indica inbred rice variety, restored the fertility of PDGMSR, and the genetic pattern was found to be consistent with a dominant epistatic model, therefore, the dominant epistatic fertility restorer gene was designated as Rfe. The F2 population from the cross of PDGMSR/E823 was developed to map gene Rfe. The F2 plants with the genotypes Ms-pMs-pRferfe or Ms-pms-pRferfe were used to construct a fertile pool, and the corresponding sterile plants with genotypes Ms-pMs-prferfe or Ms-pms-prferfe were used to construct a sterile pool. The fertility restoring gene Rfe was mapped to one side of the microsatellite markers RM311 and RM3152 on rice chromosome 10, with genetic distances of 7.9 cM and 3.6 cM, respectively. The microsatellite markers around the location of the Ms-p gene were used to finely map the Ms-p gene. The findings of this study indicated that the microsatellite markers RM171 and RM6745 flanked the Ms-p gene, and the distances were 0.3 cM and 3.0 cM, respectively. On the basis of the sequence of rice chromosome 10, the physical distance between the two markers is approximately 730 kb. These findings facilitates molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) of genes Ms-p and Rfe in rice breeding programs, and cloning them in the future.