Chromosome-Scale Heliconia Genomes Reveal Genomic Innovations Underlying Floral Diversity and Tropical Adaptation

Heliconiaceae has many horticultural species of economic and aesthetic importance due to significant evolutionary differences. But the lack of genomic resources has restricted our understanding of the molecular basis for their ornamental traits and adaptive evolution. Four representative Heliconia species high - quality genome assemblies and annotations were presented, generated via hybrid sequencing. Analyses showed relatively low repeat contents, consistent gene counts, and similar overall sizes in these genomes. H. tortuosa has the largest genome, probably due to unique expansions of transposon families.

蝎尾蕉科（Heliconiaceae）拥有诸多兼具经济与美学价值的园艺物种，这源于其类群间显著的演化差异。但基因组资源的匮乏，限制了学界对其观赏性状与适应性演化的分子基础的认知。本研究报道了4个代表性蝎尾蕉属（Heliconia）物种的高质量基因组组装与注释结果，上述数据均通过混合测序技术构建完成。分析显示，这些基因组的重复序列占比较低、基因数量保守且整体基因组大小相近。卷叶蝎尾蕉（H. tortuosa）拥有该类群中最大的基因组，这可能源于其转座子家族的独特扩张。