Supporting data for "A draft genome assembly of halophyte Suaeda aralocaspica, a plant that performs C4 photosynthesis within individual cells"

The halophyte <i>Suaeda aralocaspica</i> performs complete C₄ photosynthesis within individual cells (SCC₄), which is distinct from typical C₄ plants that require the collaboration of two types of photosynthetic cells. However, despite SCC₄ plants having features that are valuable in engineering higher photosynthetic efficiencies in C₃ species, including rice, there are no reported sequenced SCC₄ plant genomes, which limits our understanding of the mechanisms involved in, and evolution of, SCC₄ photosynthesis. <br>Using Illumina and Pacbio platforms, we generated 202 Gb of clean genomic DNA sequences having a 433-fold coverage based on the 467 Mb estimated genome size of <i>S. aralocaspica</i>. The final genome assembly was 452 Mb, consisting of 4,033 scaffolds, with a scaffold N50 length of 1.83 Mb. We annotated 29,604 proteincoding genes using Evidence Modeler based on the gene information from <i>ab initio</i> predictions, homology levels with known genes, and RNA sequencing-based transcriptome evidence. We also annotated noncoding genes, including 1,651 long noncoding RNAs, 21 microRNAs, 382 transfer RNAs, 88 small nuclear RNAs, and 325 ribosomal RNAs. A complete (circular with no gaps) chloroplast genome of <i>S. aralocaspica</i> was also assembled to be 146,654 bp in length. <br>We have presented the genome sequence of<i>S. aralocaspica</i>, a SCC₄ plant. Knowledge of the genome of <i>S. aralocaspica</i> should increase our understanding of SCC₄ photosynthesis evolution and contribute to the engineering of C₄ photosynthesis into economically important C₃ crops.