Zhang Bin, Wang Zhiwei, Han Xiangyang, Liu Xue, Wang Qi, Zhang Jiao, Zhao Hong, Tang Jinfu, Luo Kangsheng, Zhai Zhaodong, Zhou Jun, Liu Pangyuan, He Weiming, Luo Hong, Yu Shuancang, Gao Qiang, Zhang Liangsheng, Li Dayong
National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Vegetable Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Science, Beijing 100097, PR China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Improvement, Beijing 100097, PR China; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the P. R. China, Beijing 100097, PR China.
National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Vegetable Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Science, Beijing 100097, PR China.
Genomics. 2022 Jul;114(4):110400. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2022.110400. Epub 2022 Jun 9.
Endive (Cichorium endivia L.) is a leafy vegetable in the Asteraceae family. Sesquiterpene lactones (STLs) in endive leaves bring a bitter taste that varies between varieties. Despite their importance in breeding varieties with unique flavours, sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis pathways in endive are poorly understood. We assembled a chromosome-scale endive genome of 641 Mb with a contig N50 of 5.16 Mb and annotated 46,711 protein-coding genes. Several gene families, especially terpene synthases (TPS) genes, expanded significantly in the C. endivia genome. STLs biosynthesis-related genes and TPS genes in more bitter varieties have shown a higher level of expression, which could be attributed to genomic variations. Our results penetrate the origin and diversity of bitter taste and facilitate the molecular breeding of endive varieties with unique bitter tastes. The high-quality endive assembly would provide a reference genome for studying the evolution and diversity of Asteraceae.
菊苣（Cichorium endivia L.）是菊科的一种叶菜类蔬菜。菊苣叶片中的倍半萜内酯（STLs）带来了不同品种间存在差异的苦味。尽管它们在培育具有独特风味的品种方面很重要，但菊苣中倍半萜生物合成途径仍知之甚少。我们组装了一个大小为641 Mb的染色体级菊苣基因组，其重叠群N50为5.16 Mb，并注释了46,711个蛋白质编码基因。几个基因家族，特别是萜类合酶（TPS）基因，在菊苣基因组中显著扩增。在苦味更重的品种中，与STLs生物合成相关的基因和TPS基因表现出更高的表达水平，这可能归因于基因组变异。我们的研究结果深入揭示了苦味的起源和多样性，并促进了具有独特苦味的菊苣品种的分子育种。高质量的菊苣组装基因组将为研究菊科的进化和多样性提供参考基因组。
