Selection and characterization of a rice mutant resistant to 5-methyltryptophan.

A rice plant resistant to 5-methyltryptophan (5MT) was selected from mutagenized M3 seeds (Oryza sativa L. var. Sasanishiki) originating from panicles treated with ethylene imine (0.2%) 2 h after flowering. When germinated on 5MT-containing medium, the seeds (M4) from selfed plants segregated with a 3 resistant:1 sensitive ratio, indicating that the plant was heterozygous for a resistance gene and that the resistance was dominant. The resistance was also expressed in callus derived from seeds. Analysis of the free amino acids in seeds, seedlings, and calli showed that homozygous resistant plants (TR1) contained higher levels of total free amino acids than sensitive plants. In particular the levels of tryptophan, phenylalanine, and histidine were, respectively, 8.5, 5.4, and 4.9 times higher than those in the sensitive plants.