Drought-tolerant QTL qVDT11 leads to stable tiller formation under drought stress conditions in rice

- A screen identified 32 drought tolerant cultivars from a germplasm panel.
- Strongly drought-resistant Samgang shows predictable yield in under rain-fed fields.
- Three QTLs found for drought tolerance and water content in Samgang × Nagdong cross.
- qVDT2, qVDT6, and qVDT11 explain 41.8% of the total phenotypic variance.
- qVDT11 with qVDT2 increases tiller formation under rain-fed fields.

Drought is an important limiting factor for rice production, but the genetic mechanisms of drought tolerance is poorly understood. Here, we screened 218 rice varieties to identify 32 drought-tolerant varieties. The variety Samgang exhibited strong drought tolerance and stable yield in rain-fed conditions and was selected for further study. To identify QTLs for drought tolerance, we examined visual drought tolerance (VDT) and relative water content (RWC) phenotypes in a doubled haploid (DH) population of 101 individuals derived from a cross between Samgang and Nagdong (a drought-sensitive variety). Three QTLs from Samgang were identified for VDT and explained 41.8% of the phenotypic variance. In particular, qVDT11 contributed 20.3% of the phenotypic variance for RWC. To determine QTL effects on drought tolerance in rain-fed paddy conditions, seven DH lines were selected according to the number of QTLs they contained. Of the drought-tolerance-associated QTLs, qVDT2 and qVDT6 did not affect tiller formation, but qVDT11 increased tiller number. Tiller formation was most stable when qVDT2 and qVDT11 were combined. DH lines with both of these drought-tolerance-associated QTLs exhibited the most stable tiller formation. Together, these results suggest that qVDT11 is important for drought tolerance and stable tiller formation in rain-fed paddy fields.