Beyond the borders of the ricefields; harnessing biodiversity in rice genetic resources through molecular research

Plant genetic resources are the most essential raw materials needed for crop improvement strategies. The conservation and sustainable use of genetic stock collections are necessary to meet demands of an increasing global population and to mitigate the effects of climate change. Advances in genomics have generated the means to exploit the plethora of information stored in genetic resources. Over the fast 5 years, the Molecular Marker Laboratory of the International Rice Research Institute's T.T. Chang Genetic Resources Center (TTC-GRC) has been involved in various projects that have enhanced the value and utilization of rice germplasm and set the stage for allele mining: the Generation Challenge Program (GCP) genotyping of rice composite collection, the GCP/BMZ/RDA/Rockefeller funded activities for targeted SNP detection by EcoTILLING, the GCP Haploryza project for genome-wide SNP genotyping, the IRRI/GCP/USDA funded OryzaSNP discovery project, the GCP analysis of diverse orthologous candidate genes (ADOC project), the World Bank funded Global Public Goods 1, project for taxonomic authentication of wild species accessions, among others. Currently, the group is establishing an association genetics platform for rice with international collaborators that build on the OryzaSNP and other projects. Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) are being developed from selected SNP lines targeted for trait dissection. Genetic stocks purified from ~2700 lines through one round of single seed descend are being multiplied for distribution to collaborators for in-depth genotyping and multi-location phenotyping for traits of interest. The group is also endeavoring the examine genetic duplicates and labeling errors in Genebank collections through microsatellite and SNP-based assays, under the Global Public Goods 2 project. Future and ongoing research includes understanding genes involved in abiotic stress tolerance and grain quality, application of genome-wide association studies to bridge the genotype-phenotype gap, de novo re-sequencing of multiple genebank accessions, and, ultimately, systems biology for rice.