Comparative genomics provides insights into biogeographic and biochemical diversity of meliaceous species

Meliaceous plants such as Azadirachta indica (neem) and Melia azedarach (chinaberry) contain large amounts of limonoids with unique anti-insect activities. The biosynthetic routes of protolimonoids have been elucidated recently, but the genes responsible for downstream modifications are not well known.
Here, we improved the genome assemblies of neem and chinaberry to the telomere-to-telomere (T2T) level for further evolutionary and functional analyses, with a focus on the genetic basis of limonoid diversity.