Relationship of Rice Grain Amylose, Gelatinization Temperature and Pasting Properties for Breeding Better Eating and Cooking Quality of Rice Varieties

A total of 787 non-waxy rice lines– 116 hybrids and 671 inbreds–were used to study the apparent amylose content (AAC), gelatinization temperature (GT), and rapid visco analyzer (RVA) pasting viscosity properties of rice starch to understand their importance in breeding better rice varieties. The investigated traits showed a wide range of diversity for both hybrid (HG) and inbred (IG) groups. The combinations of the different categories of AAC and GT were random in HG but were non-random in IG. For inbred lines, the high level of AAC tended to combine with the low level of GT, the intermediate level of AAC tended to have high or intermediate GT, and the low level of AAC tended to have high or low GT. Some stable correlations of the AAC, GT, and RVA properties may be the results derived from the physicochemical relationships among these traits, which rice breeders could utilize for selection in advanced breeding generations. Through cluster analysis, IG and HG were divided into 52 and 31 sub-clusters, respectively. Identifying the cultivars having AAC, GT, and RVA properties similar to that of popular high-quality rice varieties seems to be an interesting strategy and could be directly used for adaptation trials to breed high-quality rice varieties in targeted areas in a more customized manner.