Development of a male specific genetic marker for Garcinia subelliptica Merr. tree

Abstract

ABSTRACT Garcinia subelliptica Merr. (called “fukugi” in Japanese) is a dioecious tree species, which has traditionally been planted as windbreak forests in the coast of Ryukyu islands. Although effective afforestation and maintenance of G. subelliptica would greatly be assisted by early sex diagnosis and selection at the seedling stage, the genome and the sex-determination system of G. subelliptica are still poorly understood. In this study, we estimated the genome size of G. subelliptica to be approximately ~ 12 Gb for female and male, based on k-mer analysis. Furthermore, we developed a male-specific DNA marker for G. subelliptica, using the restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) method. The 660 bp marker fragment, named FSDM (“fukugi” sex determination marker), was amplified in all males but not in the female G. subelliptica genome analyzed so far. In addition, the segregation ratio of the marker was 1:1 among the tested population. The DNA sequence of FSDM showed a significant similarity to the antifungal protein ginkbilobin-2 gene. The development of the sex-specific genetic marker of G. subelliptica may allow more effective conservation of traditional landscape and future design of villages around the northern part of the main island of Okinawa, a promising candidate site for World Natural Heritage.