QTL Detection Associated with Eating Quality Based on Palatability Test in Japonica Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from the cross between Ilpumbyeo (a Japonica of high eating quality) and Moroberekan (a tropical Japonica type of low eating quality) was used for mapping QTLs associated with grain physicochemical properties and eating quality traits in rice. A total of 182 recombinant inbred lines were evaluated for two physicochemical traits, alkali digestive value and amylose content, and five traits associated with eating quality including glossiness of cooked rice determined by Toyo-taste meter, and glossiness, stickiness, hardness and overall evaluation for taste evaluation by panels. A total of 30 QTLs associated with seven traits in 10 loci on chromosomes 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, and 12 were identified. The most critical regions for eating quality were on chromosomes 3, 5 and 6 by Ilpumbyeo alleles, whereas Moroberekan contributed a total of 6 loci on chromosomes 1, 10 and 12. The QTL region on chromosome 5 contains the novel alleles for eating quality from Ilpumbyeo. MAS using DNA markers tightly linked with those QTLs will be useful for breeding Japonica cultivars with high eating quality.