Identification of a New Wide-Compatibility Locus in Inter-Subspecific Hybrids of Rice (Oryza sativa L.)
, Wei Zhou 1,2, Han Geng 1,2, Jinmei Fu 1,2, Zhiwu Dan 1,2, Yafei Zeng 1,2, Wuwu Xu 1,2, Zhongli Hu 1,2 and Wenchao Huang 1,2,*
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This manuscript reports a wide-compatibility locus which improve the fertility of subspecies hybrids in rice. It is generally well-written while there are a few concerns found by this reviewer.
(1) It is better to describe the genetic background of Chenhui9348 in the Introduction or the beginning of Result section.
(2) The present Introduction describes the issue of fertility when indica and japonica are hybridized. However, inter-subspecific hybrids in rice have been made using other combinations of germplasms such as tropical japonica (previously called javanica) and aus. In addition, Inter-specific hybrids in rice were made for Africa (such as New Rice for Arfica: NERICA). Including the potential usefulness in our society, the general advantages/matters of research on wide compatibility could be described to get wide readers.
(3) English can be improved. There are grammatical errors remain. One example is O. sativa (should be italic) in Line 127. Reference list format is all correct?
Author Response
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Reviewer 2 Report
This manuscript is dealing with the identification of new loci responsible for wide-compatibility in rice varieties. By identifying a new locus responsible for such an important trait it contributes to a better understanding of the inter-sub-species compatibility and therefore, to potentially increasing the efficiency of rice breeding programs.
The manuscript is presenting a carefully designed experiment with thoughtful sequence analyses that lead to appropriate discussion. This makes it for a good example of how such kind of studies should be performed with the only exception of the minor spelling/grammar errors appearing ever so often. These need to be corrected by a native English speaker before the article can be published.
Author Response
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Reviewer 3 Report
Line 28 stronger hybrid vigor
30 “and the utilization of rice heterosis was limited to indica-indica hybrid. “ are indica x indica intercrosses the only restrained by sterility barriers?
31 WCV: white in full; …which are hybrid varieties, parental indica and japonica varieties?
38 which could explain
43 WCVs (bearing at least one Sn 5 allele)? are crossed to indica or japonica, the progenies bearing Sn 5/Si 5 or Sn 5/Sj would be fully fertile.
48-50 three open reading frames (ORF3、ORF4、ORF5) comprise the triallelic system of S5 locus as shown by While Chen and Yang et al. [….] who proposed to refer to them as a “killer-protector system’, referring to the species protection?
58 analysed, (insert comma) ; I can’t understand... it seems you mean that the ORFs identification were not enough to understand the biochemical mechanism of interspecific hybrids and propositions of biotechnological solution for the crossings incompatibility.
60 probably you could say somewhere before why are you are studding F12….. a newly identified gene conferring inter crossing compatibility…
64 a table may aid to the lecturer to follow the crossings
66 was developed
67 using 9311 and Lemont as parental varieties
68 allele, as shown by sequencing the S5 locus
Which parents? All them?
90 formalin diluted in ? at 50% (v/v) : ethanol: 90 glacial acetic acid=18:1:1, v/v/v [improve please]
92 performed with aniline? How? Were them germinated in petri dishes and culture media?
100 which kind of primers? Are sequences elsewhere?
144 what is normal? Was pollen fertility normal? Which you considered normal for spikelets?
146 Do you mean the hybrids between the parental lines?
148 Further study? Which one? Different from what was described in material and methods?
149 Pollen and spikelet fertility were 149 91.0±1.8% and 87.4±1.8% (Table 1) in the hybrids Chenghui9348 x 9311.
161 Do you have various inter-subspecific hybrids? Please indicate which is shown in the picture.
163 I do not know which pollen grains are dead/ alive.
220 these polymorphic markers to detect linkage between markers an genetic compatibility.
221 markers, RM511 and RM313, located at the same chromosome 12,
Author Response
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