Waxy gene polymorphism and its association with grain quality traits in selected landraces of rice

The quality breeding of rice is mainly based on the amylose content, which is in turn determined by waxy gene locus. The genetic polymorphism of the Wx gene in 82 rice landraces and varieties were studied using a simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker RM 190. The genotypes were studied for amylose content, grain length, grain breadth, LB ratio, grain colour, alkali spreading value and gelatinisation temperature. Based on amylose content, the genotypes were classified into different categories as low amylose (10–20% amylose), intermediate amylose (20–24% amylose) and high amylose (>25% amylose). The amylose content ranged from 14.22% (Ganthasala) to 33.6% in (Vadivel). The employment of SSR markers in genetic diversity analysis also helped in grouping the genotypes on amylose content. The SSR primer, RM190 showed 48.95% correlation with phenotypical variation of amylose in the selected landraces.