Genetic diversity of arsenic accumulation in rice and QTL analysis of methylated arsenic in rice grains

BACKGROUND: Rice is a major source of dietary intake of arsenic (As) for the populations that consume rice as a staple food. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the As concentration in rice to avoid the potential risk to human health. In this study, the genetic diversity in As accumulation and As speciation in rice grains was investigated using a world rice core collection (WRC) comprising 69 accessions grown over a 3-year period. Moreover, quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis was conducted to identify QTLs controlling the dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) content of rice grains. RESULTS: There was a 3-fold difference in the grain As concentration of WRC. Concentrations of total-As, inorganic As, and DMA were significantly affected by genotype, year, and genotype-year interaction effects. Among the WRC accessions, Local Basmati and Tima (indica type) were identified as cultivars with the lowest stable total-As and inorganic As concentrations. Using an F(2) population derived from Padi Perak (a high-DMA accession) and Koshihikari (a low-DMA cultivar), we identified two QTLs on chromosome 6 (qDMAs6.1 and qDMAs6.2) and one QTL on chromosome 8 (qDMAs8) that were responsible for variations in the grain DMA concentration. Approximately 73% of total phenotypic variance in DMA was explained by the three QTLs. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results provided, one strategy for developing rice cultivars with a low level of toxic As would be to change the proportion of organic As on the basis of a low level of total As content. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1939-8433-6-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.