Molecular design breeding is one of straightforward approaches to break yield barriers in rice. In this study, GW6 gene for grain length and width from Baodali was transferred into an indica recurrent parent 9311 and a japonica variety Zhonghua 11 (ZH11) using marker-assisted backcross (MAB). One and three introgression lines were selected for phenotypic analysis from 9311 and ZH11 genetic backgrounds, respectively. SSL-1, an improved 9311 near isogenic line with GW6 performed 11%, 19% and 6.7% higher of grain length, 1000-grain weight and single plant yield, respectively, as compared with 9311. All the three improved ZH11-GW6 lines, R1, R2 and R3, had more than 30% increase in grain weight and about 7% higher in grain yield. Seed plumpness of R1, R2 and R3 was improved synchronously because the three ZH11-GW6 lines contained GIF1 (Grain Incomplete Filling 1), a dominant grain filling gene. Thus, GW6 has high potential in increasing the yield of inbred lines through MAB, making it an important genetic resource in super hybrid rice breeding. This study provides insights in the utilization of GW6 for large grain and high yield rice breeding via molecular design breeding.
