Rice progenies used for the construction of genetic maps permit exhaustive identification and characterization of resistance genes present in their parental cultivars. We inoculated a rice progeny derived from the cross IR64 x Azucena with different Magnaporthe grisea isolates that showed differential responses on the parental cultivars. By QTL mapping, nine unlinked loci conferring resistance to each isolate were identified and named Pi-24( t) to Pi-32( t). They could correspond to nine specific resistance genes. Five of these resistance loci (RLs) were mapped at chromosomal locations where no resistance gene was previously reported, defining new resistance genes. Using degenerate primers of the NBS (nucleotide binding site) motif found in many resistance genes, two resistance gene analogues (RGAs) IR86 and IR14 were identified and mapped closely to two blast RLs (resistance identified in this study, i.e. Pi-29(t) and Pi-30(t) respectively). These two RLs may correspond to the Pi-11 and Pi-a blast resistance genes previously identified. Moreover, the ir86 and ir14 genes have been identified "in silico" on the indica rice cultivar 93-11, recently sequenced by Chinese researchers. Both genes encodes NBS-LRR-like proteins that are characteristics of plant-disease resistance genes.

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Rice blast caused by Pyricularia oryzae is a devastating disease worldwide. In Vietnam, rice blast is especially severe in the Red River Delta in the North. The genetic diversity of 114 P. oryzae isolates collected from rice in 2001 in the Red River Delta and nine additional Vietnamese P. oryzae isolates was analysed using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP). DNA similarity and cluster analysis based on 160 polymorphic AFLP markers showed twelve different AFLP genetic groups among the 123 field isolates. Isolates collected from japonica hosts clustered separately from indica host isolates with at least 60% dissimilarity with little evidence for gene flow between the two populations. In the 2001 population originating from indica hosts, three genetic groups were predominant and represented 99% of the isolates sampled. One predominant clonal lineage represented 59% of the 2001 indica host population and was found in eleven provinces in the Red River Delta of North Vietnam. Significant genotype flow could be demonstrated between the indica population south of Red river and the indica population north of Red river. There was significant linkage disequilibrium between the AFLP loci within the indica population, indicating that this is not a random mating population. Pathogenicity tests of 25 isolates selected from the 12 AFLP groups on a set of 29 differential rice lines revealed two avirulent isolates and 23 pathotypes. Different combinations of known resistance genes were found to have potential for blast resistance breeding for North Vietnam.

SummaryThe effect of an inoculation with Pyricularia oryzae (isolate P06-6) on net leaf photosynthetic rate of rice ( Oryza sativa) was studied with four cultivars. Measurements were taken on the sixth leaf of the main culm of plants in the early tillering stage. On cultivars C039, IR50 and IR64 a susceptible infection type developed, but a clear difference in relative infection efficiency of the cultivars was observed. The highest number of lesions developed on leaves of C039, whereas the lowest number was found on leaves of IR64. For all three cultivars the effect of a single lesion on the reduction in net leaf photosynthetic rate was found to be equal to a reduction in leaf area of three times the area occupied by the visible lesion. On IR68, a cultivar with complete resistance, brown specks of pinpoint size appeared without any effect on net leaf photosynthetic rate.

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