ne of the breeding options to develop effective varieties against the pest is to identify and utilize new resistance genes.
Alternatively, gene pyramiding with Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) is being considered as a viable option for achieving durable gall midge resistance in rice.
Molecular markers can support classical breeding in achieving such goals of gene pyramiding. So far, seven of the gall midge resistance genes have been tagged and mapped using molecular markers (Jain et al. 2004).
Tightly linked (preferable2 cM) and/or flanking co-dominant markers (5 cM on either side of gene locus) help to effectively pyramid genes (Biradar et al. 2004).
Availability of abundant and versatile microsatellite or Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers in the rice genome (Mc Couch et al. 2002) and information on their physical position in the rice genome provide an opportunity to map any gene of interest.
These markers could be used in fine mapping and pyramiding the gene through MAS.