The Japanese morning glory genome sequence

The Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) is a traditional floricultural plant. It was introduced from China as medicinal herb, and many transposon-induced mutants were isolated in the late Edo era. The extensive genetic studies on the mutant traits have been conducted since early 20th Century. It is also widely used to study the physiology of the short day flowering response. In addition, it has number of excellent characters as an experimental plant. Therefore, it has become a unique and outstanding model plants from Japan. This project aims to provide an accurate draft genome sequence of the Japanese morning glory. We obtained RNA-seq data from several organs to predict genes. We also obtained RAD-seq data and construct a fine linkage map to create chromosome-scale pseudomolecules. The genome sequence will facilitate future genetic and physiological studies of the plant, and accelerate genome analyses of the related species.