Determination of the chromosome number and genome size of Garcinia mangostana L. via cytogenetics, flow cytometry and k-mer analyses

Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) is one of the most popular tropical fruit of Southeast Asia. It has considerable economic potential for local and export markets. This paper describes a research work to determine the number of chromosomes and genome size of G. mangostana through chromosome counting, flow cytometry and k-mer analyses. Chromosome count analysis revealed that the chromosome number of G. mangostana varied from 74-110. The high number observed could be due to the occurrence of mutation and aneuploidy in G. mangostana. Using flow cytometry with Glycine max cv. Polanka (2C=2.5pg) used as standard, G. mangostana genome size was found to be 2C=6.00±0.17 pg. Meanwhile, genome survey of G. mangostana was performed using Illumina HiSeq 2000 DNA sequencing, k-mer analysis revealed that the genome size of G. mangostana was approximately 5.92 Gbp, or approximately 6.05 pg (1 pg DNA=0.9780x109 bp). Based on the flow cytometry and genome survey, the study concludes that the genome size of G. mangostana to be between 6.00 to 6.05 pg.