In vitro screening for increased drought tolerance in rice

Summary In vitro screening at the cellular level was performed with mature seed-derived callus from five rice varieties, viz. IR 18351-229-3, IR 3185-6-3-3-2, SR 26-B, Nona Bokra, and C 14-8 of diverse geographical origin and with differential drought resistance at the in planta level. Callus was induced from mature seeds on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2.0 mgl⁻¹ (9 μM) of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 5.0, 10.0, and 15.0 gl⁻¹ of high molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG, 6000) as stressing agent to create chemical drought. Simultaneous efforts were also made to assess the effects of chemical drought in altering morphogenetic response in different varieties under in vitro culture. Seed germination was almost unaffected in SR 26-B and C 14-8, unlike in other varieties where germination was seriously affected. In general, seed germination was found to be decreased in three genotypes, viz. IR 18351-229-3, IR 3185-6-3-3-2, and Nona Bokra, with increased PEG concentrations. All genotypes displayed callus induction percentage in decreasing order with increased PEG concentrations supplemented in the callus induction medium (CIM), except SR 26-B and Nona Bokra. Callus induction was found to be more on CIM fortified with 5.0 gl⁻¹ PEG. In general, embryogenic callus induction and plantlet regeneration was found to be indirectly proportional to increased PEG concentrations used in CIM. Considering all characters, C 14-8 was found to be most appropriate in developing drought-tolerant lines under in vitro culture conditions followed by SR 26-B and Nona Bokra. A number of putative drought-tolerant plants were developed in C 14-8, SR 26-B, Nona Bokra, and IR 18351-29-3, and forwarded for field evaluation. In the majority of the progenies, a monogenic inheritance pattern for the drought tolerance character was observed.