Genetic Basis of Rice Aroma Gene and Its Application in Rice Genetics and Breeding: A Review

One of the most desired and highly valuable characters is aroma or fragrance, whose preference and demand is increasing day by day.Aromatic rice is considered proudly as an asset in many countries.More than 200 types of volatile substances are found in rice among which 2-acetyl-1-pyrrole (2-AP) is the most important compound in fragrance rice.By the help of map-based cloning, Badh2, the principal gene contributing 2-AP was mapped on chromosome 8.Non-functional BADH2 protein is resulted if a mutation occurs in badh2 gene.Hence, the accumulation of principal aromatic compound, 2-AP occurs in aromatic rice.This paper provides the insights into the genetic basis, gene function and application of aroma gene functional markers in the cultivation, production and breeding of aromatic rice along with its genetic improvement. KEY WORDSRice aroma, genetic breeding, fragrance gene, aromatic rice, molecular mapping.More than 3 billion population of the world depends upon the rice for 25% of energy so rice is considered one of the vital cereal crops in the world [1].For Southeast Asians countries, it is one of the staple food crops as it supplies about 35% of their energy requirements [2,3].Aromatic character of rice is considered as important rice grain quality.The price of aromatic rice is increasing along with its demand.Aromatic rice are found in different parts of the world among which Basmati rice of India and Pakistan and the Jasmine type rice of Thailand are the aromatic cultivars famous in world market (Table 1).