Cytogenetic maps of homoeologous chromosomes A _h01 and D _h01 and their integration with the genome assembly in Gossypium hirsutum

Cytogenetic maps of Gossypium hirsutum (Linnaeus, 1753) homoeologous chromosomes A_h01 and D_h01 were constructed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), using eleven homoeologous-chromosomes-shared bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) clones and one chromosome-specific BAC clone respectively. We compared the cytogenetic maps with the genetic linkage and draft genome assembly maps based on a standardized map unit, relative map position (RMP), which allowed a global view of the relationship of genetic and physical distances along each chromosome, and assembly quality of the draft genome assembly map. By integration of cytogenetic maps with sequence maps of the two chromosomes (A_h01 and D_h01), we inferred the locations of two scaffolds and speculated that some homologous sequences belonging to homoeologous chromosomes were removed as repetitiveness during the sequence assembly. The result offers molecular tools for cotton genomics research and also provides valuable information for the improvement of the draft genome assembly.