Characterization of Selected Rice Varieties Adapted in Africa

Rice varieties developed through the inter-specific crosses between Asian (Oryza sativa L.) and African cultivated rice (O. glaberrima Steud.) have contributed to yield enhancement of African rice. However, the genetic diversity and genetic structure of the African varieties have rarely been reported. In this study, we characterized 40 rice varieties including rice released in Africa based on eleven yield related agronomic traits and 96 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. They were grouped into three categories based on the cluster analysis using agronomic traits. Meanwhile, they were grouped into two distinct clusters, indica- and japonica-type, based on the genetic distance using 96 SNP markers. CG14, which belongs to O. glaberrima, was found to be an admixture type between indica and japonica. The number of secondary branches (SBs) was the only agronomic trait which was significantly different between two groups. The results of this study provide basic agronomic and genomic information of cultivated and tested rice varieties for Africa, that would be helpful for further rice varietal improvement in Africa.