Development of Near-isogenic Transgenic Rice Lines Harboring Wild Rice (Oryza grandiglumis)-Derived Fungal Resistance Gene (OgPR1)

A total of 34 T1 transgenic rice lines overexpressing OgPR1 from wild rice (Oryza grandiglumis) were produced in the previous study. Selection of transgenic plants using hygromycin selection medium was continuously done until T4 generation to find ten homozygous lines. These ten T4 lines were established in the Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) field of NICS (National Institute of Crop Science) in the year of 2007. Phenotypic uniformity and performance was evaluated and compared to the control Dongjin. Two lines were selected for Preliminary Yield Trial (PYT) and Replicated Yield Trial (RYT). Based on morpho-agronomic trait performance, the transgenic plants tended to head later than the control. Culm length was similar to the wild-type Dongjin but the panicle length was relatively reduced. In case of panicle number, transgenic lines showed a little increment compared to wild-type. The shape of grain was nearly the same to wild-type. Yield among lines showed a little difference but was statistically not significant. In terms of physiochemical property of the grain, the transgenic lines showed higher amylose content than the wild-type. When OgPR1-expressing transgenic rice plants were tested against rice blast disease, an enhanced resistance against the disease was observed in the transgenic plants.