Development of SNP-based dCAPS markers for identifying male sterile gene tms5 in two-line hybrid rice.

Molecular markers can increase both the efficiency and speed of breeding programs. Functional markers that detect the functional mutations causing phenotypic changes offer a precise method for genetic identification. In this study, we used newly derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence markers to detect the functional mutations of tms5, which is a male sterile gene that is widely used in rice production in China. In addition, restriction cutting sites were designed to specifically digest amplicons of tms5 but not wild type (TMS5), in order to avoid the risk of false positive results. By optimizing the condition of the polymerase chain reaction amplifications and restriction enzyme digestions, the newly designed markers could accurately distinguish between tms5 and TMS5. These markers can be applied in marker-assisted selection for breeding novel thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) lines, as well as to rapidly identify the TGMS hybrid seed purity.