Next-Generation Breeding of Rice by Whole-Genome Approaches

Owing to recent developments in DNA sequencing technologies, whole-genome analysis of crop species has become a routine procedure. In order to improve local rice cultivars adapted to northern Japan, we are applying whole-genome analysis to identify and utilize useful alleles for crossbreeding. Here we show that large-scale generation of genetic resources combined with whole-genome analyses including MutMap and QTL-seq provides a powerful platform for the application of “next-generation breeding” in rice.