ABSTRACT. We analyzed chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) polymorphism and phylogenic relationships between 6 typical indica rice, 4 japonica rice, 8 javanica rice, and 12 Asian common wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) strains collected from different latitudes in China by comparing polymorphism at 9 highly variable regions. One hundred and forty-four polymorphic bases were detected. The O. rufipogon samples had 117 polymorphic bases, showing rich genetic diversity. One hundred and thirty-one bases at 13 sites were identified with indica/japonica characteristics; they showed differences between the indica and japonica subspecies at these sites. The javanica strains and japonica shared similar bases at these 131 polymorphic sites, suggesting that javanica is closely related to japonica. On the basis of length analyses of the open reading frame (ORF)100 and (ORF)29-tRNA-Cys(GCA) (TrnC GCA ) fragments, the O. rufipogon strains were classified into indica/japonica subgroups, which was consistent with the results of the phylogenic tree assay based on concatenated datasets. These results indicated that differences in indica and japonica also exist in the cpDNA genome of the O. rufipogon strains. However, ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 11 (4): 4418-4431 (2012)