Genome sequencing and assembly of Acorus gramineus and Acorus calamus

Monocots are a major taxon within flowering plants, have unique morphological traits, show extraordinary diversity in lifestyle, and have successfully colonized almost every habitat on Earth. To improve our understanding of their origin and evolution, we generated chromosome-level reference genomes of the diploid Acorus gramineus and the tetraploid A. calamus, the only two species from the family Acoraceae. The genomes of these two Acoraceae species, which form a sister lineage to all other monocots, provide a unique reference for inferring the genome content and structure of the most recent common ancestor of all extant monocots.