What is the Difference Between Oryza Sativa and Oryza Glaberrima

The key difference between Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima is that Oryza sativa is the major rice species grown in Asia, while Oryza glaberrima is the major rice species grown in Africa.

Rice is the staple food for a large part of the world. It is consumed by over 50% of the world’s human population. The rice plant is a semi-aquatic free tillering grass belonging to the family of Poaceae and the genus Oryza. All the species in the genus Oryza are diploid or tetraploid, and their basic chromosome number is designated as n=12. There are two cultivated and twenty-one wild species of the genus Oryza. The cultivated species are Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima. O. sativa is thought to be originated from the wild-type rice species Oryza rufipogan, while O. glaberrima originated from the wild-type rice species O. barthii.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Oryza Sativa  
3. What is Oryza Glaberrima
4. Similarities – Oryza Sativa and Oryza Glaberrima
5. Oryza Sativa vs Oryza Glaberrima in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Oryza Sativa vs Oryza Glaberrima

What is Oryza Sativa?

Oryza sativa is the major rice species grown in Asia. O. sativa is also known as Asian rice or indica rice. It was first domesticated in the Yangtze River basin in China 13,500 to 8,200 years ago. Globally, it is the most popular and grown species of rice. Oryza sativa belongs to the family Poaceae and the genus Oryza. The genome size of this species is approximately 430Mbp with 12 chromosomes. Moreover, it is easy to genetically modify it and use it as a model organism for cereal-based studies. All varieties of O. sativa species are classified into six groups (group I, II, III, IV, V, and VI) based on their genetic nature.

Due to the long-term domestication process, two subspecies originated from Oryza sativa. They are named eco geographical races. These include Oryza sativa indica, Oryza sativa japonica, and Oryza sativa javonica. The indica rice subspecies originated from group I, while japonica varieties are from group VI. Javonica subspecies also originated from group VI and widely designated as tropical japonicas. The indica subspecies were domesticated in the hills of the Himalayas in Eastern India and Japonicas in South China. At the moment, indica subspecies are dispersed throughout tropical and subtropical areas, including Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the japonica subspecies is in South China and became the species of the temperate lands. It is also widely distributed in West Africa and Brazil.

What is Oryza Glaberrima?

Oryza glaberrima is the major rice species that is grown in Africa. This species also belongs to the family of Poaceae and the genus Oryza. The genome size of Oryza glaberrima species is approximately 358 Mbp and has 12 chromosomes.

This species was the first domesticated species grown in West Africa 3000 years ago. It makes up 20% of rice grown in West Africa. Moreover, when compared to Asian rice species (Oryza glaberrima), this species is hardy, pest-resistant, low labour, and suitable for African conditions. Furthermore, O. glaberrima also has a distinct nutty flavour. In addition to that, the sub species of O. glaberrima may include Oryza glaberrima aspera, Oryza glaberrima ebenicolorata, Oryza glaberrima evoluta, Oryza glaberrima rigida, and Oryza glaberrima rustica.

What are the Similarities Between Oryza Sativa and Oryza Glaberrima?

• sativa and O. glaberrima are two rice species in the family of Poaceae and genus Oryza
• Both these rice species are domesticated.
• These rice species have 12 chromosomes and AA type genome.
• Both these rice species are diploid.
• Both these rice species have subspecies due to long domestication.

What is the Difference Between Oryza Sativa and Oryza Glaberrima?

O.sativa is the major rice species grown in Asia, while O. glaberrima is the major rice species grown in Africa. Thus, this is the key difference between Oriza sativa and Oryza glaberrima. Moreover, O. sativa originated from the wild-type rice species Oryza rufipogan, while O. glaberrima originated from the wild-type rice species O. barthii.

The below infographic presents the differences between Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Oryza Sativa vs Oryza Glaberrima

Rice is a staple food in many parts of the world. There are two cultivated and twenty-one wild species of the genus Oryza. The cultivated and domesticated rice species are Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima. Oryza sativa is the major rice species grown in Asia. In contrast, O. glaberrima is the major rice species grown in Africa. So, this summarizes the difference between Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima.

Reference:

1. T;, Hiei Y;Ishida Y;Komari. “Rice, Indica (Oryza Sativa L.).” Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.), U.S. National Library of Medicine.
2. “Oryza Glaberrima.” An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Oryza sativa Ear rice Stugaru roman rice IMG 3971” By あおもりくま,(Aomorikuma) – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “African rice niger” By Jun-Ichi Sakagami –  (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia