Genetic characteristics of Korean weedy rice (Oryza sativa L) by RFLP analysis

The genetic characteristics and classification of 24 strains of Korean weedy rice, two strains of foreign red rice, three Japonica cultivars, one Tongil cultivar and one Indica cultivar (Oryza sativa L.) were investigated at the DNA level using the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. Eighty-three random combinations between six restriction enzymes and forty genomic DNA probes (RG# and KR#) were assayed. Thirty-seven (92.5%) out of the forty probes used showed polymorphisms among the 31 accessions assayed. A high level of polymorphism was found between short and long grain type Korean weedy rices, whereas fewer polymorphisms were presented among strains within each grain type. A dendrogram summarizing genetic similarity coefficients among thirty-one accessions was constructed based on their DNA polymorphisms. The Korean weedy rice strains were classified into two groups identical to the short and long grain types classified by morphological and physiological characters. From the RFLP analysis, it was deduced that the short grain strains of Korean weedy rice belonged to Japonica, while the long grain strains were closer to Indica than to Japonica, and were differentiated into a local ecotype surviving in the growth conditions in the southern part of the Korean peninsula.