Marker-Assisted Pyramiding of Blast-Resistance Genes in a japonica Elite Rice Cultivar through Forward and Background Selection

Rice blast, caused by , is one of the main rice diseases worldwide. The pyramiding of blast-resistance ( ) genes, coupled to Marker-Assisted BackCrossing (MABC), provides broad-spectrum and potentially durable resistance while limiting the donor genome in the background of an elite cultivar. In this work, MABC coupled to foreground and background selections based on KASP marker assays has been applied to introgress four genes ( , and ) in a renowned Italian rice variety, highly susceptible to blast. Molecular analyses on the backcross (BC) lines highlighted the presence of an additional blast-resistance gene, the -linked / gene, therefore increasing the number of blast-resistance introgressed genes to five. The recurrent genome was recovered up to 95.65%. Several lines carrying four (including ) genes with high recovery percentage levels were also obtained. Phenotypic evaluations confirmed the effectiveness of the pyramided lines against multivirulent strains, which also had broad patterns of resistance in comparison to those expected based on the pyramided genes. The developed blast-resistant lines represent useful donors of multiple blast-resistance genes for future rice-breeding programs related to the group.