1School of Biotechnology, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Kashmere Gate, Delhi, 110 006.
2School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110 067.
Division of Seed Science and Technology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110 012.
Characterization of 32 Indian rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties cultivated in different agro-ecosystems was undertaken, using biochemical marker system i.e. total soluble protein profile and isoenzymes. The average similarity index, average heterozygosity values for polymorphic loci and marker index were 0.77, 0.79 and 3.73 respectively. The protein and isoenzyme marker systems in combination generated 35 polymorphic markers (63.6%) out of a total of 55 bands. The probability of obtaining an identical match by chance between two varieties was 9 x 10-2, indicating that biochemical markers reveal only a moderate level of polymorphism. The uniformity and stability of these markers were assessed in the Nucleus and Breeder seed samples of one aromatic (Pusa Basmati-1) and one non-aromatic (Pusa 44) variety. The possible application of these markers for DUS (distinctness, uniformity and stability) testing for the grant of plant variety protection is discussed.
Rice, total soluble protein, isoenzyme, DUS testing
