Generation of a chromosome-scale genome assembly of the insect-repellant terpenoid-producing Lamiaceae species, Callicarpa americana

Background: Plants exhibit wide chemical diversity due to production of specialized metabolites which function as pollinator attractants, defensive compounds, and signaling molecules. Lamiaceae (mints) are known for their chemodiversity and have been cultivated for use as culinary herbs and as sources of insect repellents, health-promoting compounds, and fragrance.  Findings: We report the chromosome-scale genome assembly of Callicarpa americana L. (American beautyberry), a species within the early diverging Callicarpoideae clade of the Lamiaceae, known for its metallic purple fruits and use as an insect repellent due to its production of terpenoids. Using long reads and Hi-C scaffolding, we generated a 506.1 Mb assembly spanning 17 pseudomolecules with an N50 contig and N50 scaffold size of 7.5 Mb and 29.0 Mb, respectively. A total of 32,164 genes was annotated including 53 candidate terpene synthases and 47 putative clusters of specialized metabolite biosynthetic pathways. Whole genom...