Genetic structure and diversity of Oryza sativa L. in Guizhou, China

Preserving many kinds of rice resources and rich variations, Guizhou Province is one of the districts with the highest genetic diversity of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) in China. In the current research, genetic diversity and structure of 537 accessions of cultivated rice from Guizhou were studied using 36 microsatellite markers and 39 phenotypic characters. The results showed that the model-based genetic structure was the same as genetic-distance-based one using SSRs but somewhat different from the documented classification (mainly based on phenotype) of two subspecies. The accessions being classified into indica by phenotype but japonica by genetic structure were much more than that being classified into japonica by phenotype but indica by genetic structure. Like Ding Ying’s taxonomic system of cultivated rice, the subspecific differentiation was the most distinct differentiation within cultivated rice. But the differentiation within indica or japonica population was different: japonica presented clearer differentiation between soil-watery ecotypes than indica, and indica presented clearer differentiation between seasonal ecotypes than japonica. Cultivated rices in Guizhou revealed high genetic diversity at both DNA and phenotypic levels. Possessing the highest genetic diversity and all the necessary conditions as a center of genetic diversity, region Southwestern of Guizhou was suggested as the center of genetic diversity of O. sativa L. from Guizhou.