Draft genome assembly and annotation of Glycyrrhiza uralensis,a medicinal legume |
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| Authors: | Keiichi Mochida Tetsuya Sakurai Hikaru Seki Takuhiro Yoshida Kotaro Takahagi Satoru Sawai Hiroshi Uchiyama Toshiya Muranaka Kazuki Saito |
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| Affiliation: | 1. RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;2. Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan;3. Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan;4. Research and Education Faculty, Multidisciplinary Science Cluster, Interdisciplinary Science Unit, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan;5. Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan;6. Department of Applied Biological Science, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan;7. Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Chinese liquorice/licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) is a leguminous plant species whose roots and rhizomes have been widely used as a herbal medicine and natural sweetener. Whole‐genome sequencing is essential for gene discovery studies and molecular breeding in liquorice. Here, we report a draft assembly of the approximately 379‐Mb whole‐genome sequence of strain 308‐19 of G. uralensis; this assembly contains 34 445 predicted protein‐coding genes. Comparative analyses suggested well‐conserved genomic components and collinearity of gene loci (synteny) between the genome of liquorice and those of other legumes such as Medicago and chickpea. We observed that three genes involved in isoflavonoid biosynthesis, namely, 2‐hydroxyisoflavanone synthase (CYP93C), 2,7,4′‐trihydroxyisoflavanone 4′‐O‐methyltransferase/isoflavone 4′‐O‐methyltransferase (HI4OMT) and isoflavone‐7‐O‐methyltransferase (7‐IOMT) formed a cluster on the scaffold of the liquorice genome and showed conserved microsynteny with Medicago and chickpea. Based on the liquorice genome annotation, we predicted genes in the P450 and UDP‐dependent glycosyltransferase (UGT) superfamilies, some of which are involved in triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis, and characterised their gene expression with the reference genome sequence. The genome sequencing and its annotations provide an essential resource for liquorice improvement through molecular breeding and the discovery of useful genes for engineering bioactive components through synthetic biology approaches. |
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| Keywords: |
Glycyrrhiza uralensis
liquorice/licorice genome sequence PRJDB3943 synteny flavonoid P450 UDP‐dependent glycosyltransferases |
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