Determination of genetic relationship among basmati and non-basmati rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.) genotypes from North-West Himalayas using microsatellite markers
68-75In the present study, 25 microsatellite markers were used to determine the genetic relatedness among the 51 basmati and 14 non-basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes. A total of 82 alleles were detected by 25 markers, all of them (100%) were polymorphic. The polymorphic information content (PIC) among genotypes varied 0.253 (RM520) to 0.695 (RM206) with an average of 0.46. Pairwise genetic similarity coefficients between all genotypes ranged 0.1 to 0.6 with average of 0.39. Phylogenetic-based cluster analysis of the SSR data, based on distance, divided all genotypes into four groups (I, II, III & IV), consisting of 39, 7, 16 and 3 genotypes, respectively. Principal coordinate analyses (PCoA) confirmed the separation of basmati and non-basmati rice genotypes comparable to those from UPGMA analysis and were well in agreement. These results suggest that the microsatellite SSR markers are efficient for measuring genetic relatedness among the rice genotypes, and can be utilized effectively for the differentiation of basmati and non-basmati rice genotypes. Present study also indicated that genetically basmati rice is different from that of coarse rice type, and supports the concept of independent evolution of basmati rice. The low level of diversity in local basmati suggested the introduction of diverse germplasm in the basmati breeding programme
