ARS | Publication request: A new tool for selection of cooked rice texture

Submitted to: Experiment Station Bulletins
Publication Type: Experiment Station
Publication Acceptance Date: June 20, 2005
Publication Date: July 5, 2005
Citation: Chen, M., McClung, A.M., Fjellstrom, R.G. 2005. A new tool for selection of cooked rice texture. Texas Rice, Highlighting Research in 2005. http://beaumont.tamu.edu/eLibrary/Newsletter/200/_Highlights_in_Research.pdf. p. XIV.

Technical Abstract: Progress has been made in identifying the specific region of the gene which controls rice amylose content that impacts cooked rice texture. Dr. Ming Hsuan Chen has worked as a USDA-ARS post-doc with Dr. Christine Bergman and Dr. Bob Fjellstrom over the last four years on a research project that was partially funded by the US Rice Foundation. The study involved characterizing 160 rice accessions from around the world for genetic variation associated with cooking quality traits. One of these traits, cooked rice texture, is measured by the Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) which determines the viscosity of rice flour paste as it goes through heating and cooling cycles. This mimics the performance of the rice as it is being cooked and then cooled. The RVA is a useful tool for determining the texture of cooked rice as would be perceived by in-home consumers and the processing quality of rice as would be perceived by parboiling and canning industry end-users. Dr. Chen identified the expressed regions (exons) of the granule bound starch synthase gene which control the amount and structure of amylose that is produced in rice. DNA sequence variation in exons 6 and 10 cause dramatic changes in the RVA profile which results in some rice being suitable for parboiling and canning whereas others are not. As a result of this research, breeders now have a more accurate and efficient tool to develop new rice cultivars that have cooking quality traits as desired by consumers and the processing industry.