The genome of elephant grass (Cenchrus purpureus). The genome of elephant grass (Cenchrus purpureus)

Elephant grass (2n = 4x = 28; Cenchrus purpureus Schumach.), also known as Napier grass, is an important forage grass and potential energy crop in tropical and subtropi-cal regions of Asia, Africa and America. However, no study has yet reported a genome assembly for elephant grass at the chromosome scale. Here, we report a high-quality chromosome-scale genome of elephant grass with a total size of 1.97 Gb and a 1.5% heterozygosity rate, obtained using short-read sequencing, single-molecule long-read sequencing and Hi-C chromosome conformation capture.

象草（Elephant grass，2n=4x=28；学名：Cenchrus purpureus Schumach.）又名纳皮尔草（Napier grass），是亚洲、非洲与美洲热带及亚热带地区重要的饲用牧草与潜在能源作物。然而目前尚无研究报道染色体级别的象草基因组组装结果。本研究通过短读长测序、单分子长读长测序以及Hi-C染色体构象捕获（Hi-C chromosome conformation capture）技术，组装获得了总长度为1.97 Gb、杂合率为1.5%的高质量染色体级别象草基因组。