Genomic data of the Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea)

Vigna subterranea is an agriculturally, biologically, medicinally and economically important African orphan crop. Bambara Groundnut grows well any where groundnut (peanut) grows and so is vastly present from Kwara state and throughout the northern parts of Nigeria. Wikipedia states that the Bambara groundnut represents the third most important grain legume in semi-arid Africa. It is resistant to high temperature and is suitable for marginal soils where other leguminous crops cannot be grown. Wikipedia includes in its list of uses; the seeds are used for food and beverages; the entire plant is known for soil improvement; in West Africa, the nuts are eaten as a snack, roasted and salted, processed into cake, or as a meal, boiled similar to other beans. Here we present draft genome information of Vigna subterranea. The assembled genome of Vigna subterranea is 535 Mb, and we predict 31707 protein-coding genes for this crop species. We have further analyzed the expansion and contraction of selected gene families, and characterized root-nodule-symbiosis genes, transcription factors and starch biosynthesis related genes in the genome of this species.

滨豇豆（Vigna subterranea，俗称班巴拉花生（Bambara Groundnut））是一种在农业、生物学、药用与经济领域均具有重要价值的非洲孤儿作物。班巴拉花生可在花生（peanut）适宜生长的任意区域良好存活，因此在尼日利亚夸拉州（Kwara state）及全境北部地区均广泛分布。维基百科（Wikipedia）记载，班巴拉花生是半干旱非洲地区第三大重要食用豆科作物。该作物耐高温，且可在其他豆科作物无法生长的边际土壤中存活。维基百科收录的该作物用途包括：其种子可用于制作食品与饮品；全株可用于改良土壤；在西非地区，班巴拉花生可作为零食直接食用，经盐焗处理后食用，或加工成糕饼，亦可以像其他豆类一样煮制作为主食。本研究公布了滨豇豆（Vigna subterranea）的基因组草图信息：该物种的组装基因组大小为535 Mb，研究团队预测其共包含31707个蛋白质编码基因。本团队进一步分析了该物种基因组中部分选定基因家族的扩张与收缩情况，并对根瘤共生基因、转录因子以及淀粉生物合成相关基因进行了特征注释与分析。