Wild Oryza starch property evaluation

Of 22 Oryza species, only two are domesticated; Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima. Although the remaining 20 Oryza species have been investigated for drought and pest tolerance genes, some of which have been successfully introgressed into cultivated rice, their starch properties have remained largely ignored. Rice yields are declining in some areas, and it has been suggested rice production must increase by 70% by 2025 to meet the needs of the projected world population. Exploration of wild species may open a new window to higher quality or more productive rice varieties and hybrids. However, analysis of the functional and nutritional properties of the grain of these wild species’ is required before they can be considered for commercial use. In this study we compared grain physical (size, shape and colour), thermal, pasting and nutritional properties along with endosperm ultra structure and starch granule morphology of 13 wild species with each other and Oryza sativa. We also assessed diversity within starch synthesis genes (GBSSI, SSIIa) andSBEIII/ SBEIIb) between these species.