Molecular mapping of a novel blast resistance gene Pi38 in rice using SSLP and AFLP markers

Blast, caused by Magnaporthe grisea, is the most devastating disease of rice worldwide. In this study, the main objective was to identify and map a new gene for blast resistance, in an indica rice cultivar 'Tadukan' against blast fungal isolate B 157, using molecular tools. F-2 segregating population was derived from 'CO39' (susceptible) and 'Tadukan' (resistant), and molecular mapping of the blast resistance gene was carried out using simple sequence length polymorphism (SSLP) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) methods. Two SSLP markers, RM206 and RM21 and three AFLP markers (AF1: E-aca/M-ctt; AF2: E-aca/M-cat and AF3: E-ace/M-cac2) were identified to be linked to the resistance gene. The co-segregation analysis using SSLP markers implied that the blast resistance gene designated Pi38 resides on rice chromosome 11.