Description
To achieve sustainability and food security we need expand the germplasm base and access novel genetic diversity to accelerate breeding. For developing new forage cultivars, the availability of a high-quality genome facilitates accurate characterization of new germplasm, and an understanding of the genetics underlying important traits. Here, we sequenced and assembled three high-quality chromosome-level forage genomes. The contig-level assembly of Cleistogenes songorica (2n = 4x = 40) comprised 540.12 Mb of the genome, with a contig N50 of 21.28 Mb. Complete assemblies of all telomeres, and of ten chromosomes were derived. The chromosome-scale genome size of elephant grass (2n = 4x = 28) was 1.97 Gb and heterozygosity rate was 1.5%. The chromosome-scale genome size of Melilotus albus (2n = 2x = 16) was 1.04 Gb, containing 71.42% repetitive elements. This study provides implementation pathways to study genome evolution, adaptation to stress and genetic basis of unique or complex traits in three species. The genomic resources that we developed in this study offer valuable information that will facilitate efficient germplasm exploration and genetic improvement of the three species for pasture uses.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Forage Genomics Accelerate the Germplasm Resource Innovation
To achieve sustainability and food security we need expand the germplasm base and access novel genetic diversity to accelerate breeding. For developing new forage cultivars, the availability of a high-quality genome facilitates accurate characterization of new germplasm, and an understanding of the genetics underlying important traits. Here, we sequenced and assembled three high-quality chromosome-level forage genomes. The contig-level assembly of Cleistogenes songorica (2n = 4x = 40) comprised 540.12 Mb of the genome, with a contig N50 of 21.28 Mb. Complete assemblies of all telomeres, and of ten chromosomes were derived. The chromosome-scale genome size of elephant grass (2n = 4x = 28) was 1.97 Gb and heterozygosity rate was 1.5%. The chromosome-scale genome size of Melilotus albus (2n = 2x = 16) was 1.04 Gb, containing 71.42% repetitive elements. This study provides implementation pathways to study genome evolution, adaptation to stress and genetic basis of unique or complex traits in three species. The genomic resources that we developed in this study offer valuable information that will facilitate efficient germplasm exploration and genetic improvement of the three species for pasture uses.
