Genetic Diversity Analysis of NERICA Lines and Parents Using SSR Markers

Diversity at molecular level among 10 genotypes was evaluated using Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers. The primer RM510 is for the trait salt tolerant, RM351 for drought tolerant and RM215 for short duration. The 10 rice genotypes showed clear diversification for the primers RM510, RM351 and RM215. A total of 10 alleles were detected among the 10 rice genotypes. The number of allele locus-1 ranged from 3 (RM510 and RM215) to 4 (RM351) with an average of 3.33 allele locus-1. On average, 40% of the 10 rice genotypes shared a common major allele ranging from 30% (RM351) to 50% (RM510) common allele at each locus. The PIC value ranged from 0.492 (RM510) to 0.745 (RM351) with an average of 0.608 locus-1. The highest PIC value (0.745) was obtained from RM351, followed by RM510 (0.492) and RM215 (0.586). However, RM510 (0.492) and RM215 (0.586) could be conceded as least powerful markers with lower PIC values. The 10 genotypes were grouped into 4 clusters based on UPGMA method. Using 27% similarity as the threshold for UPGMA clustering, we observed four major genetic clusters. Cluster I, II, III and IV contained 1, 3, 1 and 5 genotypes respectively. These results revealed that markers RM351 would be best in screening 10 rice genotypes followed by RM510 and RM215. The information about the genetic diversity will be very useful for proper identification and selection of appropriate parents for future breeding programs.