DNA fingerprinting to detect genetic variation in rice using hypervariable DNA sequences

The suitability of miniand microsatellite related DNA sequences capable of detecting multiple loci was investigated for their ability to generate DNA fingerprints in rice. These included R18.1, a cattle-derived probe, the M13 repeat probe, pV47, a human minisatellite probe; and repeats in the Per gene, telomere, chi sequence and 3' hypervariable region of apolipoprotein B. With the R18.1, pV47 and M13 repeat probes, the level of polymorphism was high enough to identify all of the cultivars and wild rice species used in this study. R18.1, which showed the highest level of polymorphism, was estimated to identify up to 2.5×10(20) genotypes of rice. In a F2 population of a 'Basmati-370' and 'Taichung-65' cross, loci detected by R18.1 segregated in a Mendelian fashion. DNA fingerprints were somatically stable and the hybridization patterns were identical among different plants of the same cultivar. Application of the above molecular genetic markers for identification of rice genotypes is reported here for the first time.