Development and Characterization of Breeding Materials with Diverse Grain Size and Shape in japonica Rice

: To diversify the grain size and shape of japonica rice, we developed the Breeding Materials with Diverse Grain Size and Shape (BM_DGS) and characterized the grain and yield-related traits. We used the donor parents Jizi1560 and Jizi1581, japonica germplasm with extremely large grain size. Four cross combinations between the each donor parents and Korean high yielding japonica rice cultivars, Deuraechan and Boramchan, were constructed and anther culture method was applied. Among 290 doubled haploid lines, we selected 91 elite lines with diverse grain size and shape and designated to the BM_DGS. The grain size and shape of BM_DGS exhibited beyond the characteristics of previously developed Korean rice cultivars. The alleles of major grain-related genes, GW2 , GS3 , and qSW5 , in BM_DGS showed two types, wild type or loss-of-function mutant type. The loss-of-function mutant alleles, gw2 , gs3 , and qsw5 , had an effect on increasing grain size. The phenotypic variation of grain length was mostly controlled by GS3 alleles, and grain width and thickness were influenced by the combinations of GW2 and qSW5 alleles. 1,000-grain weight was determined by the combinations of GW2 , GS3 , and qSW5 . The grain-related genes influenced the phenotypic variation of yield-related traits. The result of this study could be useful to elucidate the relationship between the grain-related genes and agronomic traits. And the BM_DGS are being utilized in the breeding programs to diversify the grain size and shape in japonica rice.