Allelic variation of containing markers in responsible QTL for salinity tolerance (Saltol) at seedling stage in Iranian rice cultivars

Due to necessity of salt tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.) and availability of different approaches of molecular breeding in identification of major QTLs controlling salinity tolerance, it is very important to evaluate the presence of these QTLs in Iranian cultivars and the roles in breeding strategies. In this study, 20 different rice cultivars and two tolerance (Pokkali) and sensitive (IR29) controls were evaluated under salinity stress at, seedling stage in greenhouse conditions (EC= 0, 6 and 10 dSm-1) using 6 polymorphic SSR markers. Analysis of variance showed the high significant difference among genotypes of different traits, rice genotypes showed different salinity tolerance at seedling stage. Obtained dendrogram by UPGMA method categorized genotypes in to 3 different groups. 20 rice cultivars based on major QTLs of Saltol region on chromosome 1 were arranged in separate haplotype groups. RM8094 marker was distinguished as the best marker for identification of salt tolerance genotypes in seedling stage.