Marker aided selection for aroma in F2 populations of rice

Marker aided selection (MAS) can be used for monitoring the presence or absence of genes in breeding populations and can be combined with conventional breeding approaches. In this study, crosses between two high yielding cultivars, Neda and Nemat with local aromatic varieties Sang tarom and Tarom deylamani were made followed by phenotypic selection for desirable individual plants in F2 populations. Then, marker aided selection was applied to genotypic selection of aromatic plants using allele specific amplification (ASA) marker in these populations. Plants homozygous for aroma gene with good agronomic performance were identified. These plants can be used to develop new aromatic rice lines in the near future in Iran.