Phenotypic Characterization and Genetic Mapping of An Open-hull Sterile Mutant in Rice

Rice hulls remain closed throughout the ripening period to maintain internal humidity of the grains. An Open-hull sterile mutant was induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) treatment on Sinsunchalbyeo rice, a japonica type. This mutant showed open hulls even in the ripening stages and fully mature grains. In addition, several altered characteristics were observed, including of narrowed palea, decreased grain size, partial pollen sterility and erect panicle. Microscopic analysis showed that the palea was positioned slightly inside the lemma, and the size of palea decreased in the mutant. Genetic analysis of F2 and F3 segregation populations derived from the cross between the Open-hull sterile mutant (Oryza sativa ssp. japonica) and Milyang23 (O. sativa ssp. indica) indicated that the Open-hull trait was controlled by a single recessive allele. The fine-mapping with STS (sequence tagged site) markers revealed that the mutant gene was located on the short arm of chromosome 3. We were able to narrow it down until 30.6Kb where three candidate genes were found.