Recently, the jujube team at the College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, led by researcher Huang Jian, used the main cultivated variety of dried jujube in China, 'Junzao', and the famous "Qin Medicine" representing Qingjian sour jujube as research materials. They integrated multiple advanced sequencing technologies such as PacBio HiFi, ONT ultra-long, and Hi-C, as well as various assembly strategies to complete the gap-free haplotype genome assembly of jujube and sour jujube, which was published in Horticulture Research.
The study revealed that the T2T genome sizes of 'Junzao' and sour jujube are 385.80 Mb (JZ) and 375.15 Mb (SZ) respectively, with N50 sequence sizes of 31.07 Mb (JZ) and 30.84 Mb (SZ). Further haplotype genome assemblies of 'Junzao' and sour jujube were obtained based on HiFi reads.
This study obtained the haplotype T2T genomes of jujube and sour jujube for the first time, further elucidating the origin and domestication path of jujube. It clarified the genomic structural variations and changes in gene expression levels during the evolution of jujube, providing a molecular basis for jujube molecular breeding and improvement. Especially, it offers important genetic resources for deciphering the important medicinal metabolites of jujube and sour jujube.
The T2T haplotype genomes of Junzao (JZ) and Qingjian Suanzao (SZ). (Image provided by the research team)
Related paper information: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae071
