Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis, using 14 primers was performed to estimate genetic diversity among 27 landraces of Hassawi rice growing in Al-Ahsa region of Saudi Arabia and deposited at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology with KACST IDs. The average polymorphism produced by 11 selected primers was more than 75%. The analysis of ISSR polymorphism divided the examined rice landraces into two groups; In one group (A), one accession (KACST 191) was clearly delimited as a distant landrace from other 12 landraces grouped in two clusters; cluster I of seven landraces of close geographic distributions; four of them grow at close geographic locations (KACST IDs 32, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187 and 188) and cluster II is comprised of five landraces KACST IDs (190, 308, 352, 353 and 355). In group B, the landraces were more closely related to each other as compared to the landraces of group A. In this group a small cluster of two landraces (KACST 305 & KACST 333) was clearly distant from a large group of three clusters comprised of landraces having KACST IDs 189 & 192, landraces 302, 306, 307, 308 & 310 and landraces with KACST IDs 334, 351, 354, 356 & 357 respectively. These results indicate that ISSR fingerprints are efficient in the identification and resolution of genetic diversity between the landraces of the Hassawi rice and will be an efficient method in the authentication of the rice germplasm in the gene bank of Saudi Arabia.
Keywords: Genetic diversity; Inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR); Rice (Oryza sativa L.).