Fine mapping of the rice low phytic acid (Lpa1) locus

Phytic acid is the primary storage form of phosphorus (P) in cereal grains. In addition to being essential for normal seedling growth and development, phytic acid plays an important role in human and animal nutrition. The rice low phytic acid mutation lpa1 results in a 45% reduction in seed phytic acid with a molar equivalent increase in inorganic P. The Lpa1 locus was previously mapped to the long arm of chromosome 2. Using microsatellite markers and a recombinant inbred line population, we fine mapped this locus between the markers RM3542 and RM482, which encompass a region of 135 kb. Additional markers were developed from the DNA sequence of this region. Two of these markers further delimited the locus to a 47-kb region containing eight putative open reading frames. Cloning and molecular characterization of the Lpa1 gene will provide insight into phytic acid biosynthesis in plants. The markers reported here should also be useful in introgressing the low phytic acid phenotype into other rice cultivars.