The sensory qualities of food such as aroma, taste, and texture are the most important criteria for distinguishing Basmati type rices from non-Basmati types. To map the gene(s) controlling aroma, bulked segregant analysis (BSA) using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers was applied in an F2/F3 population of Basmati 370 (aromatic) and IR36 (non-aromatic). DNA samples from homozygous aromatic and homozygous non-aromatic plants identified on the basis of progeny tests were bulked and used for BSA. A total of 550 random primers were used and the primers, AG8 and AN1, produced polymorphism between aromatic and non-aromatic types. Association of AG8-AR, AN1-AR1, and AN1-AR2 with a gene for aroma was determined by surveying F2 individuals. The three RAPD markers AG8-AR, AN1-AR1, and AN1-AR2 were found to be linked to the gene for aroma with a distance of 6.9, 8.9 and 16.4 cM, respectively. Southern analysis with AG8-AR as a probe with 125 F2 individuals confirmed linkage between AG8-AR and the gene for aroma. AG8-AR was mapped on chromosome 8 flanked by two tightly linked markers, RZ617 and RG978, at 2.1 and 1.7 cM distances, respectively, indicating that this gene in Basmati 370 is located on chromosome 8
