Linkage Mapping of Promising Rice Cultivars for Aromatic and Aerobic Adaptation through Molecular Markers

The present investigation was designed to introgress BAD2A allele conferring fragrance in Basmati rice into aerobic rice variety followed by identifying QTLs allied with many valuable traits under direct-seeded field conditions via F-3 F-4 population resulting from the breeding of MAS26 (aerobic rice) and PUSA1121 (Basmati rice). The phenotype data was documented for both . fields as well net house conditions during the Kharif seasons. The result indicated high variation among the populations for studied traits. Parabolic frequency distribution was recorded for panicle length, an effective number of tillers per plant, 1000-grain weight while grain length/breadth ratio and root thickness, frequency distribution curve were skewed toward MAS26. Composite interval mapping identified a total of sixteen QTLs on chromosomes 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 in both years with LOD score of these QTLs ranging from 2.76 (qPL(6.1)) to (qGW(11.1)) and explained 36.41% and 51.85% variance respectively. The identified QTL in the present investigation showed high phenotypic variation. Hence after validation, these QTLs could improve rice under aerobic conditions.