{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T04:57:55Z","timestamp":1790744275409,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790553600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City","award":["SCKJ-JYRC-2023-20"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SCKJ-JYRC-2023-20"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005693","name":"Hainan University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["KYQD(ZR)-21081"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KYQD(ZR)-21081"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005693","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["KYQD(ZR)-21081"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KYQD(ZR)-21081"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03q648j11","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"National Innovation Center for Salt-Tolerant and Alkali-Tolerant Rice Project","award":["ZDYF2025GCZX001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ZDYF2025GCZX001"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Vitamin E is an essential dietary nutrient, yet deficiency affects large populations, especially in rice-dependent developing countries. To dissect the genetic basis of grain vitamin E content in rice, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on a diverse panel of 533 rice accessions. A strongly associated locus, VEQ2, was identified on chromosome 2, where the CC genotype significantly increased \u03b1-tocopherol content compared with the TT genotype. We developed a kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) marker for VEQ2 and validated its effect in an F2 population derived from Baikezaohe (TT) and AKITAKOMACHI (CC), consistent with largely additive (incomplete dominance) inheritance. Through marker-assisted backcrossing, we introgressed VEQ2 into an elite indica background, generating near-isogenic lines. The CC introgression lines exhibited \u03b1-tocopherol and \u03b1-tocotrienol levels that were approximately 1.86- and 5.28-fold those of the control, respectively, accompanied by reduced \u03b2-tocopherol, whereas the TT lines displayed the opposite metabolic profile, with no significant penalties in agronomic traits. Analysis of 4726 accessions revealed marked differences in allele frequencies between subspecies: TT was predominant in indica (84.2%), whereas CC was nearly fixed in japonica (99.5%). Collectively, these findings demonstrate that VEQ2 is a key associated locus modulating the rice vitamin E metabolic profile and represents a promising target for biofortification of indica rice without compromising yield.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants15192951","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T10:00:34Z","timestamp":1790589634000},"page":"2951","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Marker-Assisted Selection at VEQ2 Increases \u03b1-Tocopherol Content in Rice Grains Without Yield Penalty"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Hongbo","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Sanya National Center of Technology Innovation for Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice, Sanya 572025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Sanya National Center of Technology Innovation for Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice, Sanya 572025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Haifeng","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Sanya National Center of Technology Innovation for Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice, Sanya 572025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Ruolin","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Sanya National Center of Technology Innovation for Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice, Sanya 572025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Sishu","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Yazhouwan National Laboratory, Sanya 572025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Xindong","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Sanya National Center of Technology Innovation for Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice, Sanya 572025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Yufei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Yazhouwan National Laboratory, Sanya 572025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Jie","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Sanya National Center of Technology Innovation for Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice, Sanya 572025, China"},{"name":"Yazhouwan National Laboratory, Sanya 572025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5981-8216","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tuan","family":"Long","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Sanya National Center of Technology Innovation for Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice, Sanya 572025, 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