Dissecting QTLs for Reproductive Stage Salinity Tolerance in Rice from BRRI dhan 47

Salinity is a common and increasing problem in many coastal rice producing areas around the world. Salinity tolerance at the reproductive stage in rice is crucial as it determines grain yield. An F2 mapping population was developed from two modern rice cultivars contrasting in tolerance: NSIC Rc222 (a high-yielding salt-sensitive variety released in the Philippines) and BRRI dhan 47 (a salt-tolerant variety released in Bangaldesh). The performance of the F2 population showed transgressive segregation in the yield components under salinity stress of EC 10 dS/m under salinized field conditions. Ninety-six single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers using 96-plex Fluidigm genotyping were used to construct a linkage map of 1306.2 cM (Kosambi), with an average interval size of 13.6 cM. Seven putative…