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Rice Sheath Blight Disease Resistance Identified in Oryza spp. Accessions

Oryza spp., wild relatives of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa), may contain novel resistance genes for sheath blight, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, that could be used to enhance resistance to this important disease in commercial rice. To identify resistant sources for sheath blight disease, 73 Oryza genotypes were evaluated with three different methods conducted in the greenhouse, growth chamber, or laboratory because there are significant limitations to screening wild Oryza spp. under field conditions. For the microchamber method, 4-week-old seedlings were inoculated with a potato dextrose agar plug containing mycelia, covered with a 2-liter soft drink bottle, and rated 1 week after inoculation. A detached-leaf method involved placing a potato dextrose agar plug containing mycelia on the abaxial surface of a leaf section that was cut from a 5-week-old plant and placed on moist filter paper in a petri dish under constant light, then evaluated after 72 h. For the toothpick inoculation method, toothpicks colonized with mycelia were placed in the leaf collar region of plants at the panicle initiation stage, plants were placed in a growth chamber, and disease symptoms were evaluated after 7 days. The microchamber method gave a more uniform, reproducible response, and was easier to use under greenhouse conditions. Seven Oryza spp. accessions were identified as moderately resistant with three accessions classified as O. nivara (IRGC104705, IRGC100898, and IRGC104443) and one each as O. barthii (IRGC100223), O. meridionalis (IRGC105306), O. nivara/O. sativa (IRGC100943), and O. officinalis (IRGC105979).