Genetic variation of rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm in Myanmar based on genomic compositions of DNA markers

The genetic diversity of 175 rice accessions from Myanmar, including landraces and improved types from upland and lowland ecosystems in five different areas—Western (hilly), Northern (mountainous), North and South-eastern (plateau), and Southern (plain)—was evaluated on the basis of polymorphism data for 65 DNA markers and phenol reactions. On the basis of the DNA polymorphism data, high genetic diversity was confirmed to conserve in the accessions from each ecosystem and area. And the accessions were classified into two cluster groups I and II, which corresponded to Indica Group and Japonica Group, respectively. Cluster group I accessions were distributed mainly in upland ecosystems; group II were distributed in lowland in the Southern area, and the distributions of dominant groups differed among areas. Rice germplasm in Myanmar has maintained high genetic diversity among ecosystems and areas. This information will be used for advanced studies in germplasm and rice breeding in Myanmar.