Estimation of the Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Thailand's Rice Landraces Using SNP Markers

Rice is a staple food for more than half of the world's population. Modern rice varieties have been developed for high yield and quality; however, there has been a substantial loss of diversity. A greater number of genetically dynamic landraces could offer valuable and useful genetic resources for rice improvement. In this study, the genetic diversity and population structure of 365 accessions of lowland and upland landraces from four populations from different geographical regions of Thailand were investigated using 75 SNP markers. Clustering analyses using maximum likelihood, Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA), and Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components (DAPC) clustered these landraces into two main groups, corresponding to indica and japonica groups. The indica group was further clustered into two subgroups according to the DAPC and STRUCTURE analyses (K = 3). The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) analysis results revealed that 91% of the variation was distributed among individuals, suggesting a high degree of genetic differentiation among rice accessions within the populations. Pairwise F-ST showed the greatest genetic differentiation between the northeastern and southern populations and the smallest genetic differentiation between the northern and northeastern populations. Isolation-by-distance analysis based on a Mantel test indicated a significant relationship between the genetic distance and geographic distance among the Thai rice landraces. The results from this study provide insight into the genetic diversity of Thai rice germplasm, which will enhance the germplasm characterization, conservation, and utilization in rice genetics and breeding.