Unveiling the Genetic Basis Underlying Rice Anther Culturability via Segregation Distortion Analysis in Doubled Haploid Population.

Anther culture (AC) is a valuable technique in rice breeding. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying anther culturability remain elusive, which has hindered its widespread adoption in rice breeding programs. During AC, microspores carrying favorable alleles for AC are selectively regenerated, leading to segregation distortion (SD) of chromosomal regions linked to these alleles in the doubled haploid (DH) population. Using the AC method, a DH population was generated from the hybrid rice Shenyou 26. A genetic map consisting of 470 SNPs was constructed using this DH population, and SD analysis was performed at both the single- and two-locus levels to dissect the genetic basis underlying anther culturability. Five segregation distortion loci (SDLs) potentially linked to anther culturability were identified. Among these, exhibited an overrepresentation of alleles from the female parent, while , , , and displayed an overrepresentation of alleles from the male parent. Furthermore, six pairs of epistatic interactions (EPIs) that influenced two-locus SDs in the DH population were discovered. A cluster of genetic loci, associated with EPI-1, EPI-3, EPI-4, and EPI-5, overlapped with , indicating that the locus may play a role in regulating anther culturability via both additive and epistatic mechanisms. These findings provide valuable insights into the genetic control of anther culturability in rice and lay the foundation for future research focused on identifying the causal genes associated with anther culturability.