Abstract The Apocynaceae tree Voacanga thouarsii, native to southern Africa and Madagascar, produces monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIA), which are specialized metabolites with a wide range of bioactive properties. Voacanga species mainly accumulates tabersonine in seeds making these species valuable medicinal plants currently used for industrial MIA production. Despite their importance, the MIA biosynthesis in Voacanga species remains poorly studied. Here, we report the first genome assembly and annotation of a Voacanga species. The combined assembly of Oxford Nanopore Technologies long-reads and Illumina short-reads resulted in 3,406 scaffolds with a total length of 1,354.26 Mb and an N50 of 3.04 Mb. A total of 33,300 protein-coding genes were predicted and functionally annotated. These genes were then used to establish gene families and to investigate gene family expansion and contraction across the phylogenetic tree. A transposable element (TE) analysis showed the highest proportion of TE in Voacanga thouarsii compared with all other MIA-producing plants. In a nutshell, this first reference genome of V. thouarsii will thus contribute to strengthen future comparative and evolutionary studies in MIA-producing plants leading to a better understanding of MIA pathway evolution. This will also allow the potential identification of new MIA biosynthetic genes for metabolic engineering purposes.

Clément Cuello

Emily Amor Stander

Hans J Jansen

Thomas Dugé de Bernonville

Arnaud Lanoue

Nathalie Giglioli-Guivarc'h

Nicolas Papon

Ron P Dirks

Michael Krogh Jensen

Sarah Ellen O'Connor

Sébastien Besseau

Vincent Courdavault

Genome Biology and Evolution

关于期刊基因组生物学和进化 (GBE) 在进化生物学和基因组学之间发表领先的原创研究。考虑发表的论文报告了新的进化发现，这些发现涉及自然基因组多样性、群体基因组学、基因组的结构、功能、组织和表达、比较基因组学、蛋白质组学和环境基因组相互作用。还考虑了来自计算生物学、结构生物学、发育生物学和细胞生物学领域的主要进化见解，以及基因组进化领域的理论进展。 GBE 的范围包括所有分类水平和所有生命形式的全基因组进化研究——在种群内或跨领域。其目的是进一步理解基因组的进化背景，并从全基因组的角度进一步理解进化。

The journal "Genome Biology and Evolution" focuses on publishing leading original research in the fields of genome biology and evolution. The papers considered for publication report new evolutionary discoveries related to natural genomic diversity, population genomics, the structure, function, organization, and expression of genomes, comparative genomics, proteomics, and environmental genomic interactions. Additionally, significant evolutionary insights from computational biology, structural biology, developmental biology, and cell biology, as well as theoretical advancements in the field of genomic evolution, are also considered. The scope of the journal encompasses whole-genome evolutionary studies across all taxonomic levels and forms of life, whether within populations or across domains. Its aim is to enhance the understanding of the evolutionary context of genomes and to further explore evolution from a whole-genome perspective.

《Genome Biology and Evolution》期刊专注于发表关于基因组生物学和进化的领先原创研究。考虑发表的论文报告新的进化发现，这些发现涉及自然基因组多样性、群体基因组学、基因组的结构、功能、组织和表达、比较基因组学、蛋白质组学以及环境基因组的相互作用。此外，来自计算生物学、结构生物学、发育生物学和细胞生物学领域的主要进化见解，以及基因组进化领域的理论进展也在考虑之列。该期刊的范围涵盖所有分类水平和生命形式的全基因组进化研究，无论是在种群内还是跨领域。其目的是进一步理解基因组的进化背景，并从全基因组的视角深入探讨进化过程。

Genome Assembly of the Medicinal Plant <i>Voacanga thouarsii</i>

This first reference genome of V. thouarsii will contribute to strengthen future comparative and evolutionary studies in MIA-producing plants leading to a better understanding of MIA pathway evolution and allow the potential identification of new MIA biosynthetic genes for metabolic engineering purposes.

Category	Quartile
生物学	2
生物学, 遗传学	2
生物学, 进化生物学	3

Genome Assembly of the Medicinal Plant Voacanga thouarsii

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Journal Info

Category	Quartile
GENETICS & HEREDITY	2