Psidium friedrichsthalianum Genome sequencing. Psidium friedrichsthalianum

Psidium friedrichsthalianum (O. Berg) Nied is a tropical tree species of the Myrtaceae family. This tree produces a fleshy fruit similar to a berry, commonly known as "cas'', "costa rican guava" or "sour guava". Recent studies have shown that cas has bioactive compounds (anti-diabetic, anti-plasmodic, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-platelet) which categorized it as a functional food. The species has not been completely domesticated, nor are there genetic resources or germplasm readily available to farmers. This limits its commercial development and genetic improvement programs. In this work, we present the first draft assembly of the P. friedrichsthalianum genome, using PacBio long reads and the Canu assembly pipeline. This new genomic resource represents the basis for exploring the genetic potential of this functional food.