Inheritance of resistance to rice stripe virus in rice line 'BL 1'

Rice stripe is the most serious virus disease in temperate rice-growing countries. The most economical and environmentally safe practice for controlling this disease is virus-resistant cultivars. 'BL 1' is an elite germplasm line with the blast resistance gene Pib, and has been used as a differential line for testing the pathogenicity of the blast fungus. We found that certain progenies from BL 1 showed resistance to both blast and rice stripe virus (RSV). The objectives of this study were to evaluate the RSV resistance in the field and under artificial conditions, to assess the reaction to the insect vector (small brown planthopper, SBPH), and to examine its inheritance and its relationship to blast resistance in BL 1. BL 1 was susceptible to SBPH, but resistant to RSV in field and artificial inoculation tests. The inheritance of RSV resistance in F-3 lines from the cross Nipponbare (NPB)/BL 1 was studied using artificial inoculation with a population of viruliferous SBPH. A serological assay for RSV infection using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used. RSV resistance in BL 1 was controlled by a single major gene with incomplete dominance. The locus responsible for RSV resistance was genetically independent of the blast resistance gene Pib. The resistance gene for RSV infection in BL 1 was also independent of Stvb-i, a gene widely distributed in resistant Japanese cultivars. Resistance to RSV must be diversified in rice cultivars considering the potential for future emergence of new RSV strains. The new resistance gene identified in BL 1, which has improved plant type and blast resistance, is considered useful for breeding RSV-resistant cultivars in japonica rice.