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Article|01 Jul 2024|OPEN
Genomic diversity, population structure, and genome-wide association reveal genetic differentiation and trait improvements in mango 
Xiaowei Ma1 , Hongxia Wu1 , Bin Liu2 , Songbiao Wang1 , Yuehua Zhang1 , Muqing Su1 , Hongbing Pan2 , Bang Du2 , Jun Wang3 , Ping He3 , Qianfu Chen4 , Hong An5 , Wentian Xu1 , ,† and Xiang Luo,6 , ,†
1National Key Laboratory for Tropical Crop Breeding, Sanya 572024, China; Key Laboratory of Tropical Fruit Biology, Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs; Key Laboratory for Postharvest Physiology and Technology of Tropical Horticultural Products of Hainan Province, South Subtropical Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524091, China
2Panzhihua Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Panzhihua, Sichuan 617061, China
3Liangshan Academy of Forest and Grassland, Xichang, Sichuan 615000, China
4Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan 571100, China
5Bioinformatics and Analytics Core, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
6College of Agriculture, Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450046, China
*Corresponding author. E-mail: xuwentian@catas.cn,kyc@henu.edu.cn
Both authors contributed equally to the study.

Horticulture Research 11,
Article number: uhae153 (2024)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae153
Views: 1558

Received: 19 Jan 2024
Accepted: 23 May 2024
Published online: 01 Jul 2024

Abstract

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) has been widely cultivated as a culturally and economically significant fruit tree for roughly 4000 years. Despite its rich history, little is known about the crop’s domestication, genomic variation, and the genetic loci underlying agronomic traits. This study employs the whole-genome re-sequencing of 224 mango accessions sourced from 22 countries, with an average sequencing depth of 16.37×, to explore their genomic variation and diversity. Through phylogenomic analysis, M. himalis J.Y. Liang, a species grown in China, was reclassified into the cultivated mango group known as M. indica. Moreover, our investigation of mango population structure and differentiation revealed that Chinese accessions could be divided into two distinct gene pools, indicating the presence of independent genetic diversity ecotypes. By coupling genome-wide association studies with analyses of genotype variation patterns and expression patterns, we identified several candidate loci and dominant genotypes associated with mango flowering capability, fruit weight, and volatile compound production. In conclusion, our study offers valuable insights into the genetic differentiation of mango populations, paving the way for future agronomic improvements through genomic-assisted breeding.