Mutagenic effects of heavy ion irradiation on rice seeds

Three varieties of rice seeds were subjected to irradiation using low-energy and medium-energy ions. The damage and mutations induced by the ions were examined. In addition, genetic analysis and gene mapping of spotted leaf (spl) mutants were performed. Low-energy ions had no significant influence on germination, survival or seedling height, except for the survival of Nipponbare. Medium-energy ions had a significant influence on germination and survival but had no significant effect on seedling height. In the low-energy group, among 60,000 M2 plants, 2823 putative morphological mutants were found, and the mutation frequency was approximately 4.71%. In the medium-energy group, 3132 putative morphological mutants were found, and the mutation frequency was approximately 5.22%. Five spl mutants (spl29-spl33) were obtained by ion irradiation, and the heredity of the spl mutants was stable. The characteristics of the spl mutants were found, by genetic analysis and preliminary mapping, to be controlled by a single recessive gene, and spl30 and spl33 were found to be new lesion-mimic mutants.