Giga Science:福建农大赖钟雄研究组发表龙眼基因组研究论文
2017年4月11日，牛津大学出版社出版的《Giga science》杂志上在线发表了福建农林大学福建农林大学赖钟雄研究组等研究组的一篇研究论文，论文首次在国际公布的龙眼全基因组数据库，也是无患子科植物第一个全基因组数据库。
赖钟雄研究员介绍，龙眼与近缘属果树荔枝、红毛丹等同属无患子科，是我国著名的亚热带特产果树之一;其果实富含酚类等次生代谢物质，素有“南方人参”美誉。该科研团队通过近5年的研究，攻克了龙眼基因组杂合度高的难关，组装了高质量的龙眼基因组草图;对10多个代表性龙眼品种进行了重测序，揭示了龙眼遗传上的高度多样性。同时，结合不同组织器官的转录组分析，揭示了龙眼果实富含酚类等次生代谢物质以及抗性强的机制。这对于龙眼及近缘种属果树的种质资源研究、遗传改良以及药用价值的利用具有重要意义，对于无患子科植物的进化、比较基因组学和相关领域研究，有重要参考价值。
原文链接：
Genome-wide sequencing of longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) provides insights into molecular basis of its polyphenol-rich characteristics
原文摘要：
Background: Longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.), an important subtropical fruit in the family Sapindaceae, is grown in more than ten countries. Longan is an edible drupe fruit and a source of traditional medicine with polyphenol-rich traits. Tree size, alternate bearing, and witches' broom disease still pose serious problems. To gain insights into the genomic basis of longan traits, a draft genome sequence was asseMBLed.
Results: The draft genome (about 471.88 Mb) of a China longan cultivar, ‘Honghezi’, was estimated to contain 31,007 genes and 261.88 Mb of repetitive sequences. No recent whole-genome wide duplication event was detected in the genome. Whole-genome resequencing and analysis of 13 cultivated D. longan accessions revealed the extent of genetic diversity. Comparative transcriptome studies combined with genome-wide analysis revealed polyphenol-rich and pathogen-resistance characteristics. Genes involved in secondary metabolism, especially those from significantly expanded (DHS, SDH, F3΄H, ANR, andUFGT) and contracted (PAL, CHS, and F3΄5΄H) gene families with tissue-specific expression, may be important contributors to the high accumulation levels of polyphenolic compounds observed in longan fruit. The high number of genes encoding nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) and leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase proteins, and the recent expansion and contraction of the NBS-LRR family suggested a genomic basis for resistance to insects, fungus, and bacteria in this fruit tree.
Conclusions: These data provide insights into the evolution and diversity of the longan genome. The comparative genomic and transcriptome analyses provided information about longan-specific traits, particularly genes involved in its polyphenol-rich and pathogen- resistance characteristics.
doi:10.1093/gigascience/gix023
作者：赖钟雄
