Genetic analysis of methionine content in indica-japonica hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) at different grain developmental stages

Genetics of methionine content in indica-japonica hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) was studied in 35 F1 hybrids derived from crossing 7 male-sterile indica rice cultivars with 5 restorer japonica rice cultivars. Two genetic models and their corresponding statistical methods for quantitative traits of triploid endosperm in cereal crops were used for the analysis. One is the unconditional model, which refers to the analysis of cumulative measurements along the developmental stages, while another is the conditional model, which relates to analysis throughout the developmental stages. Results showed that methionine content of indica-japonica hybrid rice was controlled by expression of triploid endosperm nuclear genes, cytoplasm genes, diploid maternal plant nuclear genes, and their genotype-environment interaction effects. Dominant effects were important at the first three developmental stages, while additive effects were important at the next two stages of grain development under both unconditional and conditional analyses. With regard to the components of heritability, maternal and cytoplasm general heritabilities and their environmental interaction heritabilities were important. It was suggested that enhancing methionine content could be more efficient when selection is based on maternal plants in early breeding generations.