The genome of Acorus deciphers insights into early monocot evolution

作者：Xing Guo, Fang Wang, Dongming Fang, Qiongqiong Lin, Sunil Kumar Sahu, Liuming Luo, Jiani Li, Yewen Chen, Dong Shanshan, Sisi Chen, Yang Liu, Shi‐Xiao Luo, Ya‐Long Guo, Huan Liu · 发表于：Nature Communications · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1038/s41467-023-38836-4 · 被引用次数：20 · 研究领域：Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies、Medicinal Plants and Neuroprotection、Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions

Acorales is the sister lineage to all the other extant monocot plants. Genomic resource enhancement of this genus can help to reveal early monocot genomic architecture and evolution. Here, we assemble the genome of Acorus gramineus and reveal that it has ~45% fewer genes than the majority of monocots, although they have similar genome size. Phylogenetic analyses based on both chloroplast and nuclear genes consistently support that A. gramineus is the sister to the remaining monocots. In addition, we assemble a 2.2 Mb mitochondrial genome and observe many genes exhibit higher mutation rates than that of most angiosperms, which could be the reason leading to the controversies of nuclear genes- and mitochondrial genes-based phylogenetic trees existing in the literature. Further, Acorales did not experience tau (τ) whole-genome duplication, unlike majority of monocot clades, and no large-scale gene expansion is observed. Moreover, we identify gene contractions and expansions likely linking to plant architecture, stress resistance, light harvesting, and essential oil metabolism. These findings shed light on the evolution of early monocots and genomic footprints of wetland plant adaptations.