Detection of Japanese glutinous rice cultivars by DNA markers for identifying wx mutations

Abstract

A simple method for detecting glutinous rice cultivars has been developed. We developed DNA markers for identifying two previously reported waxy mutations, and showed that 48 cultivars, accounting for 99.6% of the Japanese glutinous rice supply, could be detected by either one of the markers. To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the markers, we analyzed a mixture of glutinous and non-glutinous rice cultivar DNA. We show that both markers are specific for glutinous rice, and can be detected in samples containing ≥0.5% glutinous rice DNA.