Genome sequencing revealed the red-flower trait candidate gene of a peach landrace.

Peach (Prunus persica) is an economically important fruit crop globally and an excellent material for genomic studies. While considerable progress has been made in unveiling trait-associated genes within cultivars and wild relatives, certain novel genes controlling valuable traits in peach landraces, such as the red-flowering gene, remained unclear. In this study, we sequenced and assembled the diploid genome of the red-flower landrace 'Yingzui' (abbreviated as 'RedY'). Multi-omics profiling of red petals of 'RedY' revealed the intensified red coloration associated with anthocyanins accumulation and concurrent decline in flavonols. This phenomenon is likely attributed to a natural variant of Flavonol Synthase (FLS) harboring a 9-bp exonic insertion. Intriguingly, the homozygous allelic configurations of this FLS variant were only observed in red-flowered peaches. Furthermore, the 9-bp sequence variation tightly associated with pink/red petal color in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of collected peach germplasm resources. Functional analyses of the FLS variant, purified from procaryotic expression system, demonstrated its diminished enzymatic activity in flavonols biosynthesis, impeccably aligning with the cardinal trait of red flowers. Therefore, the natural FLS variant was proposed as the best candidate gene for red-flowering trait in peach. The pioneering unveiling of the red-flowered peach genome, coupled with the identification of the candidate gene, expanded the knowledge boundaries of the genetic basis of peach traits and provided valuable insights for future peach breeding efforts.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis cultivar Tieguanyin (Theaceae).

Camellia sinensis var. sinensis cultivar Tieguanyin (TGY) is an important Oolong tea variety in China. In this study, we reported a complete chloroplast (cp) genome based on the Illumina sequencing technology and combined de novo and reference-guided assembly strategies. The complete cp genome of 'TGY' displayed the regular quadripartite structure: a total of 157,126 bp in length, comprising a large single-copy (LSC, 86,904 bp) region, a small single-copy (SSC, 18,532 bp) region, and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs, 26,095 bp) regions. A lot of 132 predicted genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. The overall GC content is 37.3%. Maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree involving 18 cp genomes of the Camellia genus revealed a relatively independent event of local domestication among three types of cultivars. The complete cp genome of 'TGY' provides an insight into tea plants for further understanding evolutionary research on tea plants.