Assisted selection of eating quality progeny of indica (O. sativa L. ssp. indica) and japonica (O. sativa L. ssp. japonica) hybrids using rice starch properties

Eating quality (EQ) of rice is mainly determined by sensory evaluation using tasting, which is affected by the taster's geographic residential area, gender, and age. The sensory evaluation protocol also requires rice samples (usually > 500 g) larger than the amount harvested from the early generations of breeding in many cases, thereby hindering the sensory tasting practices. The characteristics of rice starch have a significant impact on EQ; however, information on starch assisted-selection of EQ is insufficient. In this study, the recombinant inbred lines and backcross recombinant inbred lines constructed by the hybridization of japonica (O. sativa L. ssp. japonica) rice (cv. Toyonishiki) and indica (O. sativa L. ssp. indica) rice (cv. Qishanzhan) were used as test materials to analyze and explore the relationships between the amylose content (AC), rapid visco analyzer (RVA) profile characteristics, and the EQ score obtained from sensory tasting assessment. We provided a feasible solution to use rice starch properties to assist in selection of EQ. The results indicated that AC and RVA profile characteristics including trough viscosity (TV), final viscosity (FV), breakdown (BD), and setback (SB) were closely related to the EQ values. Furthermore, an integrated indicator-i.e., starch properties quality (SPQ)-that represented a more comprehensive characterization of rice starch, was derived based on the EQ evaluation hierarchy and weighted AC, TV, FV, BD, and SB values. The correlation between SPQ and EQ was significant (p < 0.001), and was significantly higher compared with using individual indicators. Moreover, the SPQ method requires less rice samples (i.e., 3 g of milled rice flour) and can be applied to assisted-selection for EQ in early generations of breeding. This study provid esessential technical support for the rapid and accurate identification of the EQ of progeny of indica-japonica hybrids.