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Ribosomal FISH mapping reveals hybridity in phytoestrogen producing Curcuma species from Thailand

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Abstract

Species in the genus Curcuma (Zingiberaceae) that are cultivated widely in Thailand for their phytoestrogen-producing rhizomes are called wan-chak-motluk. Five cultivars belonging to Curcuma comosa (cultivars with 2n = 42 and 63) and Curcuma elata (2n = 63) were examined using the molecular cytogenetic method of fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) in order to identify genetic relationships among these cultivars based on chromosomal maps of the 18S–25S ribosomal loci. The results revealed hybrid features in this Curcuma species group and a significant similarity among wan-chak-motluk cultivars. The main features included: (1) the presence of the single largest ribosomal site, assigned the Cc1 marker site, in the somatic 2n complement of all cultivars, and (2) the odd numbers of ribosomal sites in the complements, most often in sets of three. We therefore propose that the cultivar with 2n = 42 (C. comosa) is a homoploid hybrid species comprised of two different ancestral genomes and has a diploid status with the basic chromosome number x = 21. The cultivars with 2n = 63 (C. comosa and C. elata) are most probably triploids arising within the 2n = 42 diploid species/cultivars via a meiotic modification, rather than from hybridisation between diploid and tetraploid plants. The knowledge about genetic and genomic relationships among wan-chak-motluk cultivars will be important in the research projects that aim to explore and promote new plant materials for cultivation.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Mahidol University, the National Research Council of Thailand, the Office of the Higher Education Commission of Thailand and the University of Iceland. We are grateful to Prof. Pawinee Piyachaturawat of Mahidol University for valuable comments on the project. We thank Dr Thaya Jenjittikul of Mahidol University for her contribution in sample collection and taxonomic identification of plant materials and Dr Ploenpit Chokchaichamnankit of Chulalongkorn University for assistance with the optimization of molecular cytogenetic protocols. We also thank the staff of the Cytogenetic Research Laboratory of the Botany Department, Mahidol University, for their assistance, especially Jatuporn Chandrmai and Tidarat Puangpairote.

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  1. Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Rama VI, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand

    Puangpaka Soontornchainaksaeng

  2. Institute of Biology, University of Iceland, Askja, Sturlugata 7, 101, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Kesara Anamthawat-Jónsson

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  1. Puangpaka Soontornchainaksaeng
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  2. Kesara Anamthawat-Jónsson
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Correspondence to Puangpaka Soontornchainaksaeng.

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Soontornchainaksaeng, P., Anamthawat-Jónsson, K. Ribosomal FISH mapping reveals hybridity in phytoestrogen producing Curcuma species from Thailand. Plant Syst Evol 292, 41–49 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-010-0408-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-010-0408-9

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