Wetland Research Center, Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China.
Sichuan Zoige Wetland Ecosystem Research Station, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, China.
Genome Biol Evol. 2024 Mar 2;16(3). doi: 10.1093/gbe/evae039.
Bolboschoenus planiculmis (F.Schmidt) T.V.Egorova is a typical wetland plant in the species-rich Cyperaceae family. This species contributes prominently to carbon dynamics and trophic integration in wetland ecosystems. Previous studies have reported that the chromosomes of B. planiculmis are holocentric; i.e. they have kinetic activity along their entire length and carry multiple centromeres. This feature was suggested to lead to a rapid genome evolution through chromosomal fissions and fusions and participate to the diversification and ecological success of the Bolboschoenus genus. However, the specific mechanism remains uncertain, partly due to the scarcity of genetic information on Bolboschoenus. We present here the first chromosome-level genome assembly for B. planiculmis. Through the integration of high-quality long-read and short-read data, together with chromatin conformation using Hi-C technology, the ultimate genome assembly was 238.01 Mb with a contig N50 value of 3.61 Mb. Repetitive elements constituted 37.04% of the genome, and 18,760 protein-coding genes were predicted. The low proportion of long terminal repeat retrotransposons (∼9.62%) was similar to that reported for other Cyperaceae species. The Ks (synonymous substitutions per synonymous site) distribution suggested no recent large-scale genome duplication in this genome. The haploid assembly contained a large number of 54 pseudochromosomes with a small mean size of 4.10 Mb, covering most of the karyotype. The results of centromere detection support that not all the chromosomes in B. planiculmis have multiple centromeres, indicating more efforts are needed to fully reveal the specific style of holocentricity in cyperids and its evolutionary significance.
球穗扁莎(Bolboschoenus planiculmis (F.Schmidt) T.V.Egorova)是莎草科(Cyperaceae)中一个物种丰富的典型湿地植物。该物种对湿地生态系统的碳动态和营养整合有重要贡献。先前的研究报告称,球穗扁莎的染色体为全着丝粒的,即它们在全长上具有动力学活性,并携带多个着丝粒。这一特征被认为通过染色体的断裂和融合导致了基因组的快速进化,并参与了球穗扁莎属的多样化和生态成功。然而,具体的机制仍不确定,部分原因是球穗扁莎属的遗传信息稀缺。我们在这里提出了球穗扁莎的第一个染色体水平的基因组组装。通过整合高质量的长读长和短读长数据,以及使用 Hi-C 技术的染色质构象,最终的基因组组装大小为 238.01 Mb,contig N50 值为 3.61 Mb。重复元件构成了基因组的 37.04%,预测了 18760 个蛋白质编码基因。长末端重复反转录转座子的比例较低(约 9.62%),与其他莎草科物种的报道相似。Ks(同义替换数/同义位点)分布表明,该基因组中没有近期的大规模基因组复制。单倍体组装包含大量的 54 个假染色体,平均大小较小,为 4.10 Mb,覆盖了大部分染色体组。着丝粒检测的结果支持球穗扁莎并非所有染色体都具有多个着丝粒,这表明需要进一步努力来充分揭示全着丝粒在莎草科中的具体模式及其进化意义。