Genetic Diversity Analysis of Iranian Improved Rice Cultivars through RAPD Markers

The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of Iranian improved rice varieties. Sixteen rice varieties of particular interest to breeding programs were evaluated by means of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. The number of amplification products generated by each primer varied from 4 (OPB-04) to 11 (OPD-11) with an average of 8.2 bands per primer. Out of 49 bands, 33 (67.35%) were found to be polymorphic for one or more cultivars ranging from 4 to 9 fragments per primer. The size of amplified fragments ranged between 350 to 1800 bp. Pair-wise Nei and Lis (1979) similarity estimated the range of 0.59 to 0.98 between rice cultivars. Results illustrate the potential of RAPD markers to distinguish improved cultivars at DNA level. The information will facilitate selection of genotypes to serve as parents for effective rice breeding programs in Iran