Genetic dissection of an alien chromosomal segment may enable the production of a rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotype showing shoot developmental instability.

During the course of evolutionary history, organisms have acquired genes which cooperate harmoniously and subsequently express a stable pattern of development. In an earlier study we introduced a large chromosomal segment of chromosome 6 from a rice (Oryza sativa L.) ecotype, carrying the two flowering-time genes, which showed complex epistatic interactions in relation to environmental change, into a different ecotype by successive backcrossings. Four-near-isogenic lines (NILs) with respect to these two loci were obtained by subsequent hybridization with the recurrent parent. In the study reported here, these four NILs were the major plant material used to evaluate changes in days to leaf appearance (DLA) during shoot development using a quadratic-polynomial regression. The regressions were regarded as developmental norms because of the high values of R (2). Absolute Y-residuals (AYRs) (or size of deviation) of DLA from the norms were significantly affected by genotype. Dissections of the alien chromosomal segment resulted in one NIL that showed an increased level of AYR. Since this NIL also expressed a low survival rate in a stress environment, we suggest that the increased level of AYR during development might indicate an increased level of instability in shoot development.