The chromosome-scale genome assembly of <i>Rheum palmatum</i>

Rhubarb is one of common traditional Chinese medicine with a diverse array of therapeutic efficacies. We assembled the genome of <i>Rheum palmatum</i> L. using a combination of PacBio HiFi, Oxford Nanopore, Illumina and Hi-C scaffolding approaches. Around 2.8 Gb genome was obtained after assembly with more than 99.9% sequences anchored to 11 pseudochromosomes (scaffold N50 = 259.19 Mb). Transposable elements (TE) with a continuous expansion of long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTRs) is predominant in genome size, contributing to the genome expansion of <i>R. palmatum</i>. Totally 30,480 genes were predicted to be protein-coding genes.大黄是一类常见的中药材，具备多种治疗功效。本研究结合PacBio HiFi、牛津纳米孔（Oxford Nanopore）、Illumina测序技术以及Hi-C支架组装策略，完成了掌叶大黄（Rheum palmatum L.）的全基因组组装。经组装后获得约2.8 Gb的基因组序列，其中超过99.9%的序列被锚定至11条假染色体，scaffold N50为259.19 Mb。转座元件（Transposable elements, TE）在该基因组中占据主导地位，其中长末端重复序列反转录转座子（long terminal repeat retrotransposons, LTRs）的持续扩张是驱动掌叶大黄基因组扩张的核心因素。本研究共预测得到30480个蛋白质编码基因。