Extensive sequence divergence between the reference genomes of Taraxacum kok-saghyz and Taraxacum mongolicum.

Science China. Life sciences 2022 Mar

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Plants belonging to the genus Taraxacum are widespread all over the world, which contain rubber-producing and non-rubber-producing species. However, the genomic basis underlying natural rubber (NR) biosynthesis still needs more investigation. Here, we presented high-quality genome assemblies of rubber-producing T. kok-saghyz TK1151 and non-rubber-producing T. mongolicum TM5. Comparative analyses uncovered a large number of genetic variations, including inversions, translocations, presence/absence variations, as well as considerable protein divergences between the two species. Two gene duplication events were found in these two Taraxacum species, including one common ancestral whole-genome triplication and one subsequent round of gene amplification. In genomes of both TK1151 and TM5, we identified the genes encoding for each step in the NR biosynthesis pathway and found that the SRPP and CPT gene families have experienced a more obvious expansion in TK1151 compared to TM5. This study will have large-ranging implications for the mechanism of NR biosynthesis and genetic improvement of NR-producing crops. © 2021. Science China Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Citation

Tao Lin, Xia Xu, Huilong Du, Xiuli Fan, Qingwen Chen, Chunyan Hai, Zijian Zhou, Xiao Su, Liquan Kou, Qiang Gao, Lingwei Deng, Jinsheng Jiang, Hanli You, Yihua Ma, Zhukuan Cheng, Guodong Wang, Chengzhi Liang, Guomin Zhang, Hong Yu, Jiayang Li. Extensive sequence divergence between the reference genomes of Taraxacum kok-saghyz and Taraxacum mongolicum. Science China. Life sciences. 2022 Mar;65(3):515-528