Complexity of indica-japonica varietal differentiation in Bangladesh rice landraces revealed by microsatellite markers

To understand the genetic diversity and indica-japonica differentiation in Bangladesh rice varieties, a total of 151 accessions of rice varieties mostly Bangladesh traditional varieties including Aus, Boro, broadcast Aman, transplant Aman and Rayada varietal groups were genotyped using 47 rice nuclear SSRs. As a result, three distinct groups were detected by cluster analysis, corresponding to indica, Aus and japonica rice. Among deepwater rice varieties analyzed some having particular morphological features that mainly corresponded to the japonica varietal group. Some small seeded and aromatic varieties from Bangladesh also corresponded to the japonica varietal group. This research for the first time establishes that the japonica varietal group is a prominent component of traditional varieties in Bangladesh, particularly in deepwater areas.