Domestication Genetics of the Mango (Mangifera indica L.)

The mango, Mangifera indica, is one of the world’s most economically and culturally important tropical fruit species. M. indica is thought to have been domesticated in Northeastern India, then dispersed to regions of Southeast Asia and, later, to Africa and the Americas. Here, we explore the genetic impacts of this domestication history, including domestication events, genetic bottlenecks, and introgression between M. indica and wild relatives in Southeast Asia. Loci from double digest restriction site associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq) were used to genotype historic cultivars from different geographic regions around the world along with wild and semi-domesticated relatives of M. indica. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were analyzed to investigate population structure and genetic diversity and infer the prevalence of recent hybridization and introgression between M. indica and other Mangifera species.