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Genome size variation among sex types in dioecious and trioecious Caricaceae species

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Abstract

Caricaceae is a small family consisting of 35 species of varying sexual systems and includes economically important fruit crop, Carica papaya, and other species of “highland papayas”. Flow cytometry was used to obtain genome sizes for 11 species in three genera of Caricaceae to determine if genome size differences can be detected between sexes. Genome sizes ranged from 442.5 to 625.9 megabases (Mb) likely due to variation in the accumulation of retrotransposons in the genomes. The C. papaya genome size was estimated to be 442.5 Mb, larger than previously reported. Significant differences were detected between male and female samples in Jacaratia spinosa, Vasconcellea horovitziana, and V. stipulata, and between male and hermaphrodite samples of V. cundinamarcensis, suggesting the presence of sex chromosomes for these species. The small size differences between genomes of the papaya sexes were not detected using flow cytometry. Vasconcellea horovitziana was discovered to have a larger female genome size than male, suggesting the possibility of a ZW sex chromosome system in the family. The estimated genome sizes of these 11 species will be used in sequencing their genomes and in sex chromosome research for this family.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jason Okamoto, Russell Kai, and Carol Mayo Riley for assistance on sample collection and shipment. This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Plant Genome Research Program (Award No. DBI-0922545).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Andrea R. Gschwend & Ray Ming

  2. Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Kunia, HI, 96759, USA

    Ching Man Wai

  3. Department of Tropical Plants and Soil Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    Ching Man Wai

  4. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, USDA-ARS, Hilo, HI, 96720, USA

    Francis Zee

  5. Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA

    Aru K. Arumuganathan

Authors
  1. Andrea R. Gschwend
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  2. Ching Man Wai
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  3. Francis Zee
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  4. Aru K. Arumuganathan
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  5. Ray Ming
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Correspondence to Ray Ming.

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Gschwend, A.R., Wai, C.M., Zee, F. et al. Genome size variation among sex types in dioecious and trioecious Caricaceae species. Euphytica 189, 461–469 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-012-0815-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-012-0815-9

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