The chromosome-scale assembly of endive (Cichorium endivia) genome provides insights into the sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis

Genomics. 2022 Jun 9:110400. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2022.110400. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEndive (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.PMID:35691507 | DOI:10.1016/j.ygeno.2022.110400

Source: Genomics - June 12, 2022 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Bin Zhang Zhiwei Wang Xiangyang Han Xue Liu Qi Wang Jiao Zhang Hong Zhao Jinfu Tang Kangsheng Luo Zhaodong Zhai Jun Zhou Pangyuan Liu Weiming He Hong Luo Shuancang Yu Qiang Gao Liangsheng Zhang Dayong Li Source Type: research