MOLECULAR PROFILING OF RICE VARIETIES TO ASSESS GENETIC PURITY AND EXPLORING GENES FOR BACTERIAL LEAF BLIGHT, BLAST RESISTANCE AND PHOSPHORUS UPTAKE

Development of high yielding rice varieties was crucial in combating the hunger in India and achieving food security. Molecular profiling would help in varietal identification and assessment of genetic purity. SSR markers are useful molecular markers to differentiate rice varieties at genotypic level. Present study aimed to establish molecular profiles of Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) rice varieties using 48 SSR markers and to detect presence of genes for Bacterial Leaf Blight, blast resistance and phosphorous uptake (Pup1) using gene specific markers. Polymorphic information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.370 to 0.890 indicating that the markers selected for establishment of molecular profiles were informative for cultivar identification. DNA barcodes for each rice variety were prepared using 12 highly polymorphic markers. Unique alleles identified in 77 genotypes were cultivar specific. Cluster analysis revealed that 111 genotypes were grouped into two major clusters at 11.6 % similarity coefficient and each cluster has 3 sub-clusters indicating wide variation among the ANGRAU rice genotypes. Identified distinguishable markers for rice varieties with grain types similar to the popular mega varieties (BPT 5204, Swarna, MTU 1010) would help in assessment of genetic purity. Presence of genes for multiple traits BLB +blast, BLB+phosphorus uptake, blast+ phosphorous uptake, BLB+blast+ phosphorous uptake were found in 33 rice varieties implied the need for focused research for gene deployment in future breeding programmes. Choice of diverse parents having multiple genes for BLB, blast resistance and Pup1 using modern breeding techniques would result in high yielding rice varieties with reduced use of pesticides and phosphorous fertilizers.