Marker Assisted Selection in Hybrid Rice Breeding

Hybrid rice was first come into market in 1970’s in China. A breeding system using three lines (A, B & R lines) was established by using a male sterile plant discovered from a wild rice species in 1970 by Prof. Longping Yuan. The hybrids provide many advantages in crop production by increasing yield for about 92% of total cereal production in world. In late 1980’s marker assisted selection (MAS) opens the new doors of technology and knowledge for rice breeding. In viewing the importance of hybrids, various markers have been developed for rice as a pivotal and for all other major crops of agriculture. The contribution MAS especially in hybrid rice breeding came forward while, reviewing the importance of markers in hybrid rice viz., genetic purity of parental line and hybrid seed lot, identification and transferring of eui gene for panicle exsertions, identification of fertility restoration gene, stigma exsertion gene, wide compatible gene, environment dependent traits and disease resistance in parental line of hybrid rice.