Genetic variability analysis of elite upland rice genotypes with SSR markers
Claudio Brondani, Kamylla da Silva Caldeira, Tereza Cristina Oliveira Borba, Priscila Nascimento Rangel, Orlando Peixoto de Morais, Emílio da Maia de Castro, Paulo Hideo Nakano Rangel, João Antônio Mendonça, and Rosana Vianello Brondani
Rice is one of the staple foods consumed worldwide, and rice breeding programs have become important to warrant high yield levels and grain quality in upland rice. This study aimed at insights on the genetic variability of 30 elite genotypes from a VCU trial, of the upland rice breeding program of Embrapa, using 25 SSR markers. One hundred and thirtyone alleles were obtained, an average of 5.2 alleles per locus, and mean PIC equal to 0.61. The results indicated that genetically different elite parents from the breeding program and selection in segregating families have given rise to broadbased rice genotypes. Analyzing different combinations of 10 SSR markers, we observed that the use of more informative markers is essential to explain the genetic divergence consistently with the pedigree of each rice genotype.