OPTIMIZATION OF RECOVERABLE CLEAR PLASTIC POT (rCPP) METHOD AND VALIDATION OF MOLECULAR MARKS FOR THE SCREENING OF DEEP ROOTING OF RICE (Oryza sativa L.)

The generally of Rice plants have shallow roots and require large amounts of water for cultivation. However, water resources are becoming increasingly limited due to climate change. Therefore, efforts are needed to improve rice genetics in order to produce stable crop production in drought-prone areas. One strategy to avoid drought stress is to change the architecture of deeper rooting. The identification can be done by screening the root morphology. Most of the screening methods for deep rooting ability in rice are still destructive, so the proposed activity in this study is the optimization of the Recoverable Clear Plastic Pot (rCPP) method that can detect deep rooting ability in rice early and non-destructively. The method was further validated using InDel and SSR-based molecular markers designed based on the DRO1 gene. The DRO1 gene plays a role in increasing the root growth angle, so that the roots grow in a deeper vertical direction. The results showed that Recoverable Clear Plastic Pot (rCPP) optimization was able to show good screening ability for plant root characters non-destructively. Mayangan is the best drought-tolerant genotype based on deep rooting characters that have root distribution centered on the inner circle. The relationship between deep rooting screening using the DRO1 marker provides results that are in line with deep rooting screening through the Recoverable Clear Plastic Pot (rCPP) method. HighlightO_LIThis research is part of an effort to improve rice genetics in order to produce stable crop production in drought-prone areas. C_LIO_LIThe research activities used the optimization Recoverable Clear Plastic Pot (rCPP) method. C_LIO_LIThe rCPP method was validated using InDel and SSR-based molecular markers designed based on the DRO1 gene. C_LIO_LIOptimization of rCPP shows good screening ability for plant rooting characters in a non-destructive manner. C_LI