Straw digestibility of Thai rice accessions

Abstract

Rice straw is a major source of agricultural biomass in Southeast Asia. However, it has not been fully utilized due to its recalcitrance to breakdown by an enzymatic process. Recent work demonstrated a distribution of straw digestibility among rice varieties, but this trait has not been detailed for the rice population in Thailand. Identifying rice varieties with highly digestible straw would provide information for biofuel, biorefinery and animal feed use. The current study assessed the digestibility of straw from 49 Thai rice accessions using the enzymatic-based high-throughput platform. Straw saccharification released sugars in the range 50.53–114.52 nmol/mg/hr. The highest and lowest saccharification potentials were from a glutinous variety “Muey Nawng 62 M” and an upland variety “Dawk Pa-Yawm”, respectively. Rice accessions with high digestibility for potential use were identified. These data provide a preliminary assessment of rice straw from the Thai population and should be useful for studying the genes responsible for the digestibility trait and for breeding programs for both rice grain production and straw utilization.