Comparative sequence analysis of the Stvb locus among rice cultivars

In East Asia, rice stripe, which is a viral disease, has caused a widespread damage to the japonica rice (Oryza sativa ssp. japonica) production; however, most indica rice varieties are highly resistant to this disease. An indica rice gene, Stvb-i, encodes an approximately 150-kb protein with an ATPase domain, which confers a durable resistance. Using the sequence information of Stvb-i, we identified genes allelic to the Stvb locus: Stvb from japonica upland rice (rice stripe virus [RSV] resistant); Stvb-o from wild rice (Oryza officinalis; RSV-resistant), and stvb-j from japonica rice (RSV-susceptible). Sequence comparison revealed differences between resistant and susceptible alleles.