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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Poplarville, Mississippi » Southern Horticultural Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #388288
Research Project: Blueberry and Woody Ornamental Plant Improvement in the Southeast United States

Location: Southern Horticultural Research Unit

Title: Determination of genome size and chromosome number of a Ziziphus species (Z. mauritiana Lam.) from eastern Senegal

Author
item Sakhanokho, Hamidou
item ISLAM-FARIDI, NURUL - Forest Service (FS)
item Smith, Barbara

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/22/2021
Publication Date: 1/25/2022
Citation: Sakhanokho, H.F., Islam-Faridi, N., Smith, B.J. 2022. Determination of genome size and chromosome number of a Ziziphus species (Z. mauritiana Lam.) from eastern Senegal. HortScience. 57(3):349-352. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI16267-21.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI16267-21

Interpretive Summary: Ziziphus mauritiana also known as “ber” or Indian jujube is a small fruit plant that grows as a shrub or tree. In the Sahel region, West Africa, it grows wild and is used for various purposes including nutrition, medicine, and firewood. The fruit is rich in many nutritional elements including vitamin C, phosphorus, and calcium. These undomesticated plants produce smaller fruits than those of the improved Asian cultivars. Current domestication programs in West Africa focus on using the local species as rootstock for the improved imported Asian cultivars to provide tolerance to pests and diseases. The plant plays an increasing economic role in the lives of local Sahelian populations, but despite this, there is little genetic information about it. The purpose of the current study was to determine the nuclear DNA content and chromosome numbers of wild Z. mauritiana germplasm collected in Senegal, West Africa. That goal was successfully achieved. The genetic information gathered in this study can be useful for phylogenetic studies, sequencing projects, and domestication programs that focus on controlled pollination for the development of improved Z. mauritiania cultivars.

Technical Abstract: Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. is a widespread shrub or tree of the Sahel region where it grows wild and is used for various purposes including nutrition, medicine, and firewood. Current domestication programs focus on using the local species as rootstock for the improved imported Asian cultivars to provide tolerance to pests and diseases. The plant plays an increasing economic role in the lives of local Sahelian populations, but despite this, there is little genetic information about it. The purpose of the current study was to determine the genome size estimate and chromosome numbers of Z. mauritiana germplasm collected from eastern Senegal, West Africa. Genome size estimates were determined using flow cytometry, and chromosome count was achieved using chromosome spreads of actively growing root tips. The mean, median, minimum, and maximum genome size estimates (1Cx-DNA) of Z. mauritiana were 418.74 Mb, 417.45, Mb, 410.72 Mb, and 432.12 Mb, respectively. Plants of the germplasm investigated were found to be octoploid with a chromosome number of 2n = 8x = 96. The genetic information gathered in this study can be useful for phylogenetic studies, sequencing projects, and domestication programs that focus on controlled pollination for the development of improved Z. mauritiania cultivars in the Sahel region.