Four resistance alleles derived from Oryza longistaminata (A. Chev. & Roehrich) against green rice leafhopper, Nephotettix cincticeps (Uhler) identified using novel introgression lines

The green rice leafhopper (GRH, Nephotettix cincticeps Uhler) is a serious insect pest of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in temperate regions of Asia. Wild Oryza species are the main source of resistance to insects. The W1413 accession of African wild rice (O. longistaminata A. Chev. & Roehrich) is resistant to GRH. To analyze its resistance, we developed 28 BC(3)F(3) introgression lines carrying W1413 segments in the genetic background of Nipponbare, a susceptible rice cultivar, and evaluated their GRH resistance. Five BC(3)F(3) populations were used for quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis and seven BC(3)F(4) populations for QTL validation. Four significant QTLs on the long arm of chromosome 2 (qGRH2), short arm of chromosome 4 (qGRH4), short arm of chromosome 5 (qGRH5), and long arm of chromosome 11 (qGRH11) were identified. The contribution of the W1413 allele at qGRH11 was the largest among the four QTLs; the other QTLs also contributed to GRH resistance. Chromosomal locations suggested that qGRH11 corresponds to the previously reported GRH resistance gene Grh2, qGRH4 to Grh6, and qGRH5 to Grh1. qGRH2 is a novel QTL for resistance to GRH. Thus, resistance of O. longistaminata to GRH can be explained by at least four QTLs.