© 2022 The Japan Mendel Society
Cytologia 87(4): 345–352
Cytogenetic Study of Five Rare Species
in the Genus Amomum, Meistera, and Wurfbainia
(Zingiberaceae) from Thailand
Piyaporn Saensouk1, Surapon Saensouk2*, Alongklod Tanomtong3 and
Sarawood Sungkaew4
1
Diversity of Family Zingiberaceae and Vascular Plant for Its Applications Research Unit, Department of Biology,
Faculty of Science, Mahasarakham University, Kantarawichai, Maha Sarakham, 44150, Thailand
2
Diversity of Family Zingiberaceae and Vascular Plant for Its Applications Research Unit, Biodiversity Program, Walai
Rukhavej Botanical Research Institute, Mahasarakham University, Kantarawichai, Maha Sarakham, 44150, Thailand
3
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Muang, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
4
Department of Forest Biology, Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Received July 26, 2022; accepted August 25, 2022
Summary Five rare species from Thailand in the genus Amomum, Meistera, and Wurfbainia belonging to the
tribe Alpineae, subfamily Alpinoideae, and family Zingiberaceae were cytologically studied. Chromosome numbers of all species were 2n=50. The karyotypes of all species are provided, namely Amomum repoeense Pierre
ex Gagnep. (karyotype formula=22m+18sm+10st), Meistera koenigii (J.F.Gmel.) Skornick. & M.F.Newman
(32m+12sm+6st with two satellite chromosomes), Wurfbainia schmidtii (K.Schum.) Skornick. & A.D.Poulsen
(30m+8sm+12st), W. uliginosa (J.Koenig) Giseke (22m+20sm+8st) and W. villosa var. xanthioides (Wall. ex
Baker) Skornick. & A.D.Poulsen (20m+18sm+12st with four satellite chromosomes). All karyotypes of all species are symmetric, consisting of metacentric, submetacentric, and subtelocentric chromosome pairs. The chromosome numbers of A. repoeense, M. koenigii, and W. schmidtii were reported for the first time. The karyotypes
of all five species were determined for the first time. Karyotype formulas and chromosome structures of all species can be used for the identification of species.
Keywords
Amomum, Meistera, Wurfbainia, Chromosome, Cytogenetic, Karyotype.
The genera Amomum Roxb., Meistera Giseke,
and Wurfbainia Giseke belong to the subfamily
Alpinioideae, the tribe Alpinieae of the Zingiberaceae
family (Kress 2002). Meistera and Wurfbainia have
previously been placed in Amomum. Recently, Meistera
and Wurfbainia were separated from the Amomum
based on molecular work. The Amomum is widely
distributed from Sri Lanka and India through SE
Asia to New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago,
Northern Australia and extends into the central Pacific
(Sharma and Bhattacharyya 1959, Wu and Larsen 2000,
Mabberley 2008, Kaewsri et al. 2009). The Meistera
is native ranged tropical and subtropical Asia to N.
Queensland. The genus Wurfbainia is distributed from
the Himalayas to S. China and W. & Central Malesia.
All species in three genera are widely used such as
foods, medicinal and ornamental values (Larsen and
Larsen 2006). In Thailand, some species were used
* Corresponding author, e-mail: surapon.s@msu.ac.th
DOI: 10.1508/cytologia.87.345
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/4.0/
for medicinal plants and local food from young fruits
(Saensouk and Saensouk 2020, 2021). Moreover, the
conservation status of all species of three genera based
on the IUCN Red List (IUCN Standards and Petitions
Committee 2022), indicated there were four species of
least concern (LC), namely Amomum repoeense Pierre
ex Gagnep., Meistera koenigii (J.F.Gmel.) Skornick.
& M.F.Newman, Wurfbainia schmidtii (K.Schum.)
Skornick. & A.D.Poulsen (J.Koenig) Giseke, W. uliginosa (J.Koenig) Giseke. While W. Villosa var. xanthioides
(Wall. ex Baker) Skornick. & A.D.Poulsen was reported
as a rare plant in Thailand.
Several researchers were interested in the importance
of chromosomal information in plant systematics and
evolution. The chromosome morphology can be providing valuable data to understand the relationships of taxa
at the generic level and below. Generally, chromosome
number data has been found with a lot of information. While karyotype analysis has been found in a few
studies (Lindman 1918, Jaretzky 1928, McNeill 1981).
The chromosome study of the Amomum, Meistera,
and Wurfbainia found that chromosome numbers have
been found n=24 to 96 by several researchers (Chen
et al. 1982, 1988, Beltran and Kam 1984, Chen and
346
P. Saensouk et al.
Chen 1984, Newman 1986, Das et al. 1998, 1999) (Table
1). While karyotype and idiogram studies of these genera have never been reported before.
The author surveyed and collected medicinal specimens in Thailand. Important medicinal plants of five
species in the Amomum, Meistera, and Wurfbainia have
been discovered. The morphology of all samples is
quite similar and has been confused for classification.
Cytologia 87(4)
Moreover, the conservation status of all five species
in this study based on IUCN Standards and Petitions
Committee (2022) and Saensouk et al. (2016, 2018) is
rare species. The chromosome morphology will be different for taxonomic purposes. Therefore, this study
aims to determine the chromosome number, chromosome morphology, and karyotype in five rare species of
the Amomum, Meistera, and Wurfbainia in Thailand.
Fig. 1. The flower morphology of five species belonging to the genus Amomum, Meistera, and Wurfbainia from Thailand. A.
A. reepoense, B. M. koenigii, C. W. schmidtii, D. W. uliginosa, E. W. villosa var. xanthioides. Scale bars=10 cm.
Table 1. Comparative dominant morphologies, conservation status, and traditional uses of five rare species belonging to the genus Amomum,
Meistera, and Wurfbainia from Thailand.
Species
Conservation status
(IUCN 2022 and
Saensouk et al. 2016,
2018)
A. repoense
Least Concern (LC) and
rare species
M. koenigii
Least Concern (LC) and
rare species
Dominant characteristics (Saensouk
et al. 2016)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Fruits are smooth;
All part of pseudostem glabrous;
Pseudostem 80 cm tall
Fruits look like a grapefruit,
smooth;
All part of pseudostem glabrous
with glaucous;
Pseudostem up to 180 cm tall
Fruits are smooth;
All parts of pseudostem densely
pubescence; Pseudostem up to
130 cm tall
W. schmidtii
Least Concern (LC) and
rare species
W. uliginosa
Data Deficient (DD) and
rare species
– Fruits are smooth;
– All part of pseudostem glabrous;
– Pseudostem up to 200 cm tall
W. villosa var.
xanthioides
Least Concern (LC) and
rare species
– Fruits rough with soft spines;
– All parts of pseudostem glabrous with small red lines in leaf
sheaths;
– Pseudostem up to 160 cm tall
Traditional uses
(Larsen and Larsen 2006, Saensouk et al. 2016)
Medicinal plant: rhizomes, leaves, and fruits are used for
tonic, carminative, and stomachic properties and also to
treat gastric and digestive disorders.
Medicinal plant: rhizomes and fruits are used for tonic,
carminative, and stomachic properties and also to treat
gastric and digestive disorders. Food: fruits are used as
vegetables eaten with local food in northeastern Thailand.
Medicinal plant: all parts of this plant are mainly used for
tonic, carminative, and stomachic properties and also to
treat gastric and digestive disorders. Cosmetic: this species is a very attractive smell and in the eastern part of
Thailand, it is used for herbal soap and spas.
Medicinal plant: all parts of this plant are mainly used for
tonic, carminative, and stomachic properties and also to
treat gastric and digestive disorders. Food: in the northeastern part of Thailand, young rhizomes and young
pseudostems are used as foods and local vegetables.
Medicinal plant: all parts of this plant are mainly used for
tonic, carminative, and stomachic properties and also to
treat gastric and digestive disorders.
2022
Cytogenetic Study of Amomum, Meistera and Wurfbainia (Zingiberaceae) from Thailand
Fig. 2. Microphotographs of somatic metaphase plate A. reepoense 2n=50 (A), M. koenigii 2n=50 (B), W. schmidtii 2n=50 (C),
W. uliginosa 2n=50 (D) and W. villosa var. xanthioides 2n=50 (E). Scale bars=10 µm.
Fig. 3. Karyotypes of A. reepoense 2n=50 (A), M. koenigii 2n=50 (B), W. schmidtii 2n=50 (C), W. uliginosa 2n=50 (D),
W. villosa var. xanthioides 2n=50 (E) by conventional staining. Arrows in A and E indicate satellite. Scale bars=5 µm.
347
348
P. Saensouk et al.
Cytologia 87(4)
Table 2. A summary of previous reports in somatic chromosome numbers studied of genus Amomum, Meistera, and Wurfbainia.
Species
A. kwangsiense
A. macrodons
A. maximum
A. menglaense
A. putrescens
A. repoeense
A. sericeum
A. subulatum
M. aculeata
M. cannicarpa
M. chinensis
M. gagnepainii
M. koenigii
M. lappacea
M. muricarpa
M. gagnepainii
W. biflora
W. compacta
W. longiligularis
W. mollis
W. schmidtii
W. testacea
W. uliginosa
W. villosa
W. villosa var. villosa
W. villosa var. xanthioides
2n
n
NF
Karyotype formula
Location
48
̶
24
48
48
48
50
48
54
54
48
̶
52
48
48
48
50
̶
48
48
48
48
48
48
48
48
48
48
50
̶
̶
48
48
50
48
48
48
48
48
50
̶
24
12
24
24
24
̶
̶
27
27
24
24
̶
̶
̶
24
̶
24
̶
̶
24
24
24
̶
̶
24
24
24
̶
24
24
̶
̶
̶
24
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
100
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
100
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
100
̶
̶
̶
̶
100
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
100
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
22m+18sm+10st
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
32m+12sm+6st***
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
30m+8sm+12st
̶
̶
̶
̶
22m+20sm+8st
̶
̶
̶
̶
̶
20m+18sm+12st***
China
Malaysia
China
China
China
China
Thailand
China
India
India
India
Malaysia
Thailand
India
China
China
Thailand
Malaysia
China
China
India
Malaysia
China
Thailand
Thailand
China
China
Thailand
Thailand
Malaysia
Malaysia
Thailand
Thailand
Thailand
China
Thailand
China
China
China
Thailand
References
Wu and Larsen (2000)
Beltran and Kam (1984)
Chen et al. (1988)
Chen et al. (1982)
Chen and Chen (1984)
Chen and Chen (1984)
Present study*,**
Wu and Larsen (2000)
Das et al. (1998)
Das et al. (1999)
Sharma and Bhattacharyya (1959)
Beltran and Kam (1984)
Eksomtramage et al. (2001)
Joseph (1998)
Wu and Larsen (2000)
Chen et al. (1982)
Present study*,**
Beltran and Kam (1984)
Wu and Larsen (2000)
Chen et al. (1982)
Sharma and Bhattacharyya (1959)
Beltran and Kam (1984)
Chen and Huang (1996)
Eksomtramage et al. (2001)
Saenprom et al. (2018)
Wu and Larsen (2000)
Chen et al. (1982)
Newman (1986)
Present study*,**
Beltran and Kam (1984)
Beltran and Kam (1984)
Eksomtramage et al. (2001)
Bumrungthai (2004)
Present study*,**
Chen et al. (1982)
Khamtang et al. (2014)
Wu and Larsen (2000)
Wu and Larsen (2000)
Chen et al. (1983)
Present study*,**
*=First chromosome number report, **=First karyotype report, ***=Satellite chromosome, NF=Fundamental number.
Materials and methods
Plant materials
The five species of three genera Amomum, Meistera,
and Wurfbainia, namely, A. repoeense (coll. no. S.
Saensouk 2354), M. koenigii (coll. no. S. Saensouk
2351), W. schmidtii (coll. no. S. Saensouk 2353), W.
uliginosa (coll. no. S. Saensouk 2352), W. villosa var.
xanthioides (coll. no. S. Saensouk 2350) were collected
in Thailand and voucher specimens were deposited at
Mahasarakham University Herbarium. All specimens
were cultivated in a nursery at the Walai Rukhavej
Botanical Research Institute at Mahasarakham
University, Maha Sarakham Province, Thailand. Root
tips were collected for chromosome analysis. The comparative dominant morphology, conservation status and
traditional uses of five species belonging to three genera
from Thailand are presented in Table 1 and Fig. 1.
Chromosome number analysis
Root tips of all specimens were pretreated with paradichlorobenzene at 4 C for 6 h, fixed in ethanol–acetic
acid (3 : 1, v : v) at room temperature for 30 min, and
stored at 4 C or used immediately. Samples were washed
in distilled water, hydrolyzed in 1 M HCl for 5 min at
60 C, and washed again in distilled water, then were
stained and squashed in 2% aceto-orcein, and observed
under a microscope (Zeiss Axiostar Plus) (Saensouk and
Saensouk 2020, 2021). The karyotype formulas were
derived from measurements of the metaphase chromosomes in photomicrographs. The nomenclature used
for the description of the chromosome morphology is
that proposed by Levan et al. (1964), Senavongse et al.
(2018, 2020), and Saensouk et al. (2019).
2022
349
Cytogenetic Study of Amomum, Meistera and Wurfbainia (Zingiberaceae) from Thailand
Table 3. Mean length of short arm length (Ls), long arm length (Ll), total arm length (LT), relative length (RL), centromeric index (CI) and
standard deviation (SD) of RL, CI of A. repoense 2n=50, obtained from 10 metaphase plates.
Chromosome pair
Ls SD (µm)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
0.86
0.75
0.72
0.92
0.75
1.11
0.77
0.88
0.84
0.85
0.83
0.78
0.85
0.47
0.55
0.76
0.67
0.80
0.60
0.79
0.85
0.66
0.53
0.63
0.38
0.02
0.02
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.16
0.02
0.01
0.18
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.04
0.01
0.01
Ll SD (µm)
1.86
1.85
1.86
1.59
1.74
1.25
1.41
1.29
1.30
1.21
1.17
1.20
1.13
1.37
1.25
1.04
1.08
0.93
1.11
0.91
0.86
0.86
0.89
0.67
0.56
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.02
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.05
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.01
LT SD (µm)
2.72
2.60
2.58
2.51
2.48
2.37
2.18
2.17
2.14
2.06
1.99
1.98
1.97
1.83
1.80
1.80
1.75
1.73
1.71
1.70
1.70
1.52
1.42
1.29
0.93
0.03
0.03
0.02
0.03
0.02
0.03
0.02
0.16
0.03
0.03
0.19
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.03
0.06
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.03
0.02
0.03
0.05
0.02
0.02
RL (%)
5.57
5.31
5.27
5.12
5.08
4.84
4.46
4.43
4.37
4.20
4.07
4.04
4.03
3.74
3.67
3.67
3.58
3.53
3.50
3.48
3.48
3.10
2.91
2.64
1.90
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.01
CI
0.68
0.71
0.72
0.63
0.70
0.53
0.65
0.59
0.61
0.59
0.59
0.61
0.57
0.75
0.70
0.58
0.62
0.54
0.65
0.53
0.50
0.56
0.62
0.52
0.60
0.08
0.08
0.08
0.07
0.08
0.06
0.08
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.09
0.08
0.07
0.07
0.06
0.08
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.07
0.06
0.07
Chromosome type
Submetacentric
Subtelocentric
Subtelocentric
Submetacentric
Subtelocentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Subtelocentric
Subtelocentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Table 4. Mean length of short arm length (Ls), long arm length (Ll), total arm length (LT), relative length (RL), centromeric index (CI) and
standard deviation (SD) of RL, CI of M. koenigii 2n=50, obtained from 10 metaphase plates.
Chromosome pair
Ls SD (µm)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22*
23
24*
25
1.58
1.35
0.84
0.87
1.33
1.30
1.00
1.22
1.07
1.00
0.98
1.01
0.85
1.00
0.67
0.88
0.98
0.85
0.56
1.03
1.02
1.03
0.67
0.84
0.67
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
Ll SD (µm)
1.84
1.96
2.06
1.95
1.46
1.47
1.68
1.39
1.43
1.40
1.40
1.35
1.51
1.34
1.66
1.45
1.32
1.43
1.60
1.10
1.10
1.07
1.28
1.06
0.78
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.01
LT SD (µm)
3.42
3.31
2.91
2.83
2.79
2.77
2.67
2.61
2.51
2.40
2.38
2.37
2.35
2.34
2.34
2.33
2.30
2.27
2.15
2.13
2.12
2.10
1.94
1.89
1.45
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.02
0.01
0.02
0.00
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.01
RL (%)
5.63
5.45
4.79
4.66
4.59
4.56
4.40
4.30
4.13
3.96
3.93
3.90
3.88
3.85
3.85
3.84
3.79
3.74
3.55
3.52
3.50
3.46
3.20
3.12
2.39
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.01
CI
0.54
0.59
0.71
0.69
0.52
0.53
0.63
0.53
0.57
0.58
0.59
0.57
0.64
0.57
0.71
0.62
0.57
0.63
0.74
0.52
0.52
0.51
0.66
0.56
0.54
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.08
0.06
0.06
0.07
0.06
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.08
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.09
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.08
0.06
0.06
Chromosome type
Metacentric
Metacentric
Subtelocentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Subtelocentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Subtelocentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
*=Show that satellite
Results and discussion
The A. repoeense was found somatic chromosome
number to be 2n=50 and NF=100 (Fig. 2A) and karyological analysis of this species found karyotype formula
22m+18sm+10st (Tables 2, 3, Fig. 3A). This data demonstrates that the karyotype of this species was constructed with 22 metacentric pairs, 18 submetacentric
pairs and 10 subtelocentric pairs, which were found as
asymmetrical. The short arm length ranged from 0.38
350
P. Saensouk et al.
Cytologia 87(4)
Table 5. Mean length of short arm length (Ls), long arm length (Ll), total arm length (LT), relative length (RL), centromeric index (CI) and
standard deviation (SD) of RL, CI of W. schmidtii 2n=50, obtained from 10 metaphase plates.
Chromosome pair
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Ls SD (µm)
1.04
0.99
0.97
0.94
0.92
0.96
0.94
0.61
0.63
0.84
0.78
0.38
0.34
0.61
0.47
0.31
0.63
0.58
0.08
0.51
0.46
0.46
0.40
0.37
0.28
0.03
0.00
0.01
0.01
0.05
0.01
0.02
0.05
0.05
0.04
0.02
0.08
0.08
0.01
0.05
0.08
0.02
0.02
0.01
0.02
0.00
0.02
0.01
0.00
0.02
Ll SD (µm)
1.54
1.45
1.42
1.42
1.41
1.35
1.28
1.33
1.27
1.05
1.08
1.47
1.48
0.95
1.04
1.13
0.80
0.82
1.27
0.61
0.62
0.58
0.58
0.48
0.34
0.01
0.03
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.01
0.00
0.07
0.05
0.08
0.03
0.06
0.03
0.02
0.06
0.04
0.04
0.06
0.06
0.04
0.03
0.01
0.03
LT SD (µm)
2.58
2.45
2.39
2.36
2.33
2.31
2.21
1.94
1.90
1.89
1.86
1.86
1.82
1.56
1.51
1.44
1.43
1.39
1.35
1.12
1.07
1.04
0.98
0.84
0.62
0.03
0.03
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.02
0.02
0.06
0.05
0.03
0.03
0.01
0.05
0.07
0.02
0.05
0.08
0.06
0.06
0.08
0.06
0.06
0.04
0.01
0.05
RL (%)
6.11
5.79
5.65
5.59
5.52
5.47
5.24
4.59
4.51
4.48
4.40
4.39
4.30
3.70
3.57
3.42
3.37
3.30
3.19
2.64
2.54
2.46
2.33
2.00
1.46
0.04
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
CI
0.60
0.59
0.59
0.60
0.60
0.59
0.58
0.69
0.67
0.55
0.58
0.79
0.82
0.61
0.69
0.78
0.56
0.59
0.94
0.54
0.57
0.56
0.59
0.56
0.54
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.08
0.08
0.06
0.07
0.09
0.09
0.07
0.08
0.06
0.06
0.07
0.09
0.06
0.07
0.06
0.07
0.06
0.06
Chromosome type
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Subtelocentric
Subtelocentric
Submetacentric
Submetacentric
Subtelocentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Subtelocentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Table 6. Mean length of short arm length (Ls), long arm length (Ll), total arm length (LT), relative length (RL), centromeric index (CI) and
standard deviation (SD) of RL, CI of W. uliginosa 2n=50, obtained from 10 metaphase plates.
Chromosome pair
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Ls SD (µm)
0.78
0.91
0.63
0.70
0.57
0.72
0.78
0.81
0.78
0.76
0.79
0.75
0.74
0.54
0.57
0.37
0.52
0.50
0.40
0.36
0.56
0.44
0.35
0.24
0.27
0.08
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.09
0.08
0.08
0.07
0.07
0.04
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.05
0.06
0.05
0.06
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.04
.050
0.04
0.02
0.01
Ll SD (µm)
1.35
1.17
1.45
1.25
1.33
1.15
1.08
0.94
0.95
0.96
0.90
0.93
0.93
0.97
0.91
0.93
0.75
0.76
0.85
0.87
0.62
0.71
0.72
0.53
0.38
0.13
0.14
0.11
0.13
0.11
0.11
0.09
0.11
0.10
0.12
0.10
0.09
0.11
0.10
0.06
0.08
0.09
0.08
0.08
0.08
0.08
0.07
0.07
0.05
0.02
LT SD (µm)
2.13
2.08
2.08
1.96
1.90
1.87
1.86
1.75
1.73
1.72
1.69
1.68
1.66
1.51
1.48
1.31
1.27
1.26
1.25
1.23
1.18
1.15
1.07
0.77
0.65
0.01 to 1.11 0.01 µm, the long arm length ranged from
0.56 0.01 to 1.86 0.01 µm, the total arm length ranged
from 0.93 0.02 to 2.72 0.02 µm. Relative lengths were
1.90–5.57%. Centromeric indexes were 0.50–0.75 (Table
3, Fig. 3A).
0.21
0.21
0.19
0.20
0.20
0.19
0.18
0.19
0.18
0.17
0.17
0.16
0.17
0.16
0.12
0.13
0.14
0.13
0.13
0.13
0.12
0.12
0.10
0.07
0.03
RL (%)
5.57
5.44
5.44
5.12
4.97
4.89
4.87
4.57
4.54
4.50
4.41
4.38
4.35
3.94
3.87
3.42
3.33
3.29
3.27
3.23
3.10
3.00
2.79
2.02
1.71
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.01
0.01
CI
0.63
0.56
0.70
0.64
0.70
0.61
0.58
0.54
0.55
0.56
0.53
0.55
0.56
0.64
0.62
0.71
0.59
0.61
0.68
0.71
0.52
0.62
0.67
0.68
0.59
0.04
0.03
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.03
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.03
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.03
Chromosome type
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Subtelocentric
Submetacentric
Subtelocentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Submetacentric
Subtelocentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Submetacentric
Subtelocentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Submetacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
The somatic chromosome number of M. koenigii
was found to be 2n=50 and NF=100 (Fig. 2B). The
karyological analysis found the karyotype formula 32m+
12sm+ 6st (Tables 2–4, Fig. 3B). This data demonstrates
that the karyotype was constructed with 32 metacentric
2022
351
Cytogenetic Study of Amomum, Meistera and Wurfbainia (Zingiberaceae) from Thailand
Table 7. Mean length of short arm length (Ls), long arm length (Ll), total arm length (LT), relative length (RL), centromeric index (CI) and
standard deviation (SD) of RL, CI of W. villosa var. xanthioides 2n=50, obtained from 10 metaphase plates.
Chromosome pair
Ls SD (µm)
1
2
3
4*
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14*
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
1.26
0.92
0.66
0.73
0.74
0.50
0.51
0.47
0.40
0.61
0.61
0.69
0.46
0.50
0.54
0.35
0.41
0.31
0.48
0.51
0.45
0.38
0.40
0.39
0.38
0.01
0.03
0.00
0.02
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.01
Ll SD (µm)
1.25
1.40
1.55
1.19
1.06
1.20
1.13
1.16
1.08
0.84
0.80
0.71
0.89
0.72
0.67
0.83
0.75
0.82
0.63
0.58
0.63
0.69
0.65
0.65
0.63
0.00
0.00
0.02
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.02
0.02
0.00
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.02
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.01
LT SD (µm)
2.51
2.32
2.21
1.91
1.80
1.70
1.64
1.63
1.48
1.45
1.41
1.40
1.36
1.22
1.21
1.17
1.16
1.13
1.12
1.09
1.09
1.07
1.05
1.04
1.01
0.01
0.03
0.02
0.02
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.03
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.01
0.01
RL (%)
6.94
6.42
6.11
5.29
4.98
4.70
4.53
4.50
4.10
4.00
3.89
3.86
3.75
3.37
3.36
3.24
3.20
3.13
3.08
3.02
3.01
2.97
2.91
2.87
2.78
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
CI
0.56
0.60
0.70
0.62
0.59
0.71
0.69
0.71
0.73
0.58
0.57
0.51
0.66
0.59
0.55
0.70
0.65
0.72
0.57
0.53
0.58
0.64
0.62
0.63
0.63
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.07
0.07
0.08
0.08
0.08
0.08
0.07
0.07
0.06
0.08
0.07
0.06
0.08
0.08
0.08
0.07
0.06
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
0.07
Chromosome type
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Subtelocentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Subtelocentric
Submetacentric
Subtelocentric
Subtelocentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Subtelocentric
Submetacentric
Subtelocentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Metacentric
Submetacentric
Submetacentric
Submetacentric
Submetacentric
*=Show that satellite
pairs, 12 submetacentric pairs, six subtelocentric pairs
and two satellite chromosomes, which were observed as
an asymmetric karyotype. The short arm length ranged
from 0.56 0.01 to 1.58 0.01 µm, the long arm length
ranged from 0.78 0.01 to 2.06 0.01 µm, the total arm
length ranged from 1.45 0.01 to 3.42 0.02 µm. Relative
lengths were 2.39–5.63%. Centromeric indexes were
0.52–0.74 (Table 4, Fig. 3B).
The somatic chromosome number of W. schmidtii
was found to be 2n=50 and NF=100 (Fig. 2C) and the
karyotype formula was 30m+ 8sm+12st (Tables 2, 5, Fig.
3C). The karyotype was constructed with 30 metacentric
pairs, eight submetacentric pairs and 12 subtelocentric
pairs, which were observed as asymmetrical karyotype
(Table 4). The short arm length ranged from 0.28 0.02
to 1.04 0.03 µm, the long arm length ranged from 0.34
0.03 to 1.54 0.01 µm, the total arm length ranged from
0.62 0.05 to 2.58 0.03 µm (Table 5). The relative length
is a value between 1.49 to 6.11% (Table 5). Centromeric
indexes were 0.54–0.94 (Table 5, Fig. 3C).
The somatic chromosome number of W. uliginosa was
found to be 2n=50 and NF=100 (Fig. 2D) and karyological analysis found the karyotype formula 22m+ 20sm+
8st (Tables 2, 6, Fig. 3D). The karyotype was included
22 metacentric pairs, 20 submetacentric pairs and eight
subtelocentric pairs, which were found as asymmetrical.
The short arm length ranged from 0.24 0.02 to 0.91
0.07 µm, the long arm length ranged from 0.38 0.02 to
1.45 0.11 µm, the total arm length ranged from 0.65
0.03 to 2.13 0.21 µm (Table 6). The relative length is a
value between 1.71 to 5.57% (Table 5). Centromeric indexes were 0.53–0.71 (Table 6, Fig. 3D).
The somatic chromosome number of W. villosa var.
xanthioides was found to be 2n=50 and NF=100 (Fig.
2E) and karyological analysis revealed the karyotype
formula 20m+18sm+12st (Tables 2, 7, Fig. 3E). The
karyotype structure of this species was included 20
metacentric pairs, 18 submetacentric pairs, 12 subtelocentric pairs and four satellite chromosomes, which were
found as asymmetrical. The short arm length ranged
from 0.31 0.01 to 1.26 0.01 µm, the long arm length
ranged from 0.58 0.02 to 1.55 0.02 µm, the total arm
length ranged from 1.01 0.01 to 2.51 0.01 µm (Table
7). The relative length is a value between 2.78 to 6.94%
(Table 6). Centromeric indexes were 0.51–0.73 (Table 7,
Fig. 3E).
In this study, the chromosome number of all five rare
species of three genera was found to be 2n=50 which differs from previously studied (Table 1), because it should
be environment or plant geography factors. Scientists
from many countries reported several somatic chromosome numbers of three genera to be 2n=48 (96) from
China, 2n=52 from southern Thailand, and 2n=54 from
India, while several haploid chromosome numbers to be
n=12 from China, n=24 from China, India, and Malaysia,
n=27 from India and n=48 from China (Table 1).
While, three species in this study, namely A. repoeense, M. koenigii, and W. schmidtii are reported the
chromosome number for the first time (Table 1, Figs.
1A–C, 2A–C). The data revealed that the karyotypes of
352
P. Saensouk et al.
all five rare species are asymmetric. The karyotypes of
all five rare species in this study were reported for the
first time (Fig. 3). In addition, the satellite chromosomes
were also found in M. koenigii and W. villosa var. xanthioides. Karyotype formulas and chromosome structures
of all species can be used for the identification of species.
Acknowledgements
This research project is financially supported by
Mahasarakham University. We are grateful to the Walai
Rukhavej Botanical Research Institute, Mahasarakham
University, Maha Sarakham, Thailand, for their facilities during this study. Many thanks to Dr. Rattanavalee
Senavongse for her help with the Laboratory technique.
I would like to thank Dr. Jolyon Dodgson for language
editing and suggestions to improve the manuscript.
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