Abstract
Restriction endonuclease analysis of chloroplast (ct) DNA variation in two cultivated rice species, Oryza sativa and O. glaberrima, using three endonucleases, EcoRI, HindIII and PstI, indicated the differentiation of their chloroplast genome into three types. O. sativa differed from O. glaberrimain its EcoRI restriction pattern, whereas both O. sativa ecospecies Japonica and ecosp. Javanica were differentiated from ecosp. Indica by their HindIII and PstI restriction patterns. In contrast, no ctDNA variation was revealed in O, sativa ecosp. Japonica, Javanica, or Indica, or O. glaberrima (11, 4, 7 and 8 accessions, respectively). These findings demonstrated, for the first time, the existence of chloroplast genome diversity among cultivated rice species and ecospecies.
