TY - JOUR
T1 - Is there a second fragrance gene in rice?
AU - Fitzgerald, Melissa A.
AU - Sackville Hamilton, N. Ruaraidh
AU - Calingacion, Mariafe N.
AU - Verhoeven, Harrie A.
AU - Butardo, Vito M.
PY - 2008/5
Y1 - 2008/5
N2 - Aromatic rice is highly prized by most rice consumers, and many countries cultivate traditional and improved aromatic varieties. 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP) is the major aromatic compound in rice, and is believed to accumulate because of an eight-base-pair (8-bp) deletion in an allele at the fragrance locus. In this study, 2AP was quantified and the presence or absence of the fragrance allele (fgr) was determined in 464 samples of traditional varieties of rice from the T.T. Chang Genetic Resources Centre at the International Rice Research Institute. It was shown that a number of aromatic varieties, primarily from South and South-East Asia, do not carry the 8-bp deletion, but 2AP was identified in both raw and cooked rice of these varieties. We suggest that the 8-bp deletion in fgr is not the only cause of aroma, and at least one other mutation drives the accumulation of 2AP. The amount of 2AP in most uniform fgr genotypes was not significantly different from that in aromatic nfgr genotypes, but several fgr genotypes, primarily from South Asia, reproducibly accumulated exceptionally large amounts of 2AP. We suggest that the mutation leading to 2AP in aromatic nfgr varieties possibly originated several times and, through either domestication or evolution, the fgr gene and other alleles leading to 2AP have combined in South Asia, leading to several highly aromatic traditional varieties. The identification of multiple mutations for 2AP will enable rice breeding programmes to select actively for multiple genetic sources of 2AP, leading to the development of highly aromatic and, consequently, high-quality varieties of rice.
AB - Aromatic rice is highly prized by most rice consumers, and many countries cultivate traditional and improved aromatic varieties. 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP) is the major aromatic compound in rice, and is believed to accumulate because of an eight-base-pair (8-bp) deletion in an allele at the fragrance locus. In this study, 2AP was quantified and the presence or absence of the fragrance allele (fgr) was determined in 464 samples of traditional varieties of rice from the T.T. Chang Genetic Resources Centre at the International Rice Research Institute. It was shown that a number of aromatic varieties, primarily from South and South-East Asia, do not carry the 8-bp deletion, but 2AP was identified in both raw and cooked rice of these varieties. We suggest that the 8-bp deletion in fgr is not the only cause of aroma, and at least one other mutation drives the accumulation of 2AP. The amount of 2AP in most uniform fgr genotypes was not significantly different from that in aromatic nfgr genotypes, but several fgr genotypes, primarily from South Asia, reproducibly accumulated exceptionally large amounts of 2AP. We suggest that the mutation leading to 2AP in aromatic nfgr varieties possibly originated several times and, through either domestication or evolution, the fgr gene and other alleles leading to 2AP have combined in South Asia, leading to several highly aromatic traditional varieties. The identification of multiple mutations for 2AP will enable rice breeding programmes to select actively for multiple genetic sources of 2AP, leading to the development of highly aromatic and, consequently, high-quality varieties of rice.
KW - 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline
KW - Aroma
KW - Fragrance
KW - Fragrance allele
KW - Rice
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2008.00327.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2008.00327.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 18331415
AN - SCOPUS:41749101047
SN - 1467-7644
VL - 6
SP - 416
EP - 423
JO - Plant Biotechnology Journal
JF - Plant Biotechnology Journal
IS - 4
ER -