Genetic Variability Assessment in Irrigated Rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> and <i>Oryza glaberrima</i>) by PCR-SSR in Mali

Rice species (Oryza sativa, L. and Oryza glaberrima, Steud) provide 20% energy of world’s food. Knowledge of genetic variability is important to remove duplicate materials for gene bank management and conservation. In this study, 59 microsatellite markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of 54 intraspecific (Oryza sativa) and interspecific (Oryza sativa X Oryza glaberrima) irrigated rice varieties by PCR-SSR. A total of 250 alleles were detected with an average of 4.24 alleles per SSR. Genetic diversity was ranged from 0.0713 (RM333, RM3744) to 0.8937 (RM251) to with an average of 0.4325. Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) varied from 0.0688 (RM333, RM3744) to 0.8854 (RM251) with an average of 0.3940. Rice genotypes were shared between five Groups based on their similarity with majority of them (64.81%) under Group V. Variety SK 7-8 within Group III was highly dissimilar to other varieties. Malian varieties were shared out between Groups II, III, VI and V. Strong genetic variability was observed within cluster V2 of Group V among the most cultivated and appreciated rice varieties such as Kogoni 91-1, Adny11 and BG90-2. Allelic variability observed among rice varieties could help breeding programs to identify cultivars with good agronomic traits for crop improvement.