Studies on Genetic Variability in Rice Using Molecular Markers

The genetic diversity and DNA fingerprinting of 25 rice genotypes using 20 SSR primers on chromosome numbers 7-12 was investigated. DNA was extracted from young leaves using modified CTAB method. The banding pattern was analyzed using UPGMA based Jaccard's coefficient. The results revealed that 15 primers showed distinct polymorphism among the cultivars studied indicating the robust nature of microsatellites in revealing polymorphism. The cluster analysis showed a significant genetic variation ranging between 0.36 and 0.92 among the rice cultivars. The dendrogram revealed 3 major distinct clusters. Present investigation revealed more genetic diversity among Basmati, non-basmati, hybrid and traditional varieties of rice. Based on this study, the larger range of similarity values for related cultivars using microsatellites provide tool for the assessment of genetic diversity and relationships. Our findings distinctly identify and characterize 25 varieties using 15 different SSR primers which can be used in background selections during backcross breeding programs.