A haplotype-resolved genome assembly of Rhododendron vialii based on PacBio HiFi reads and Hi-C data.

ABSTRACT

Rhododendron vialii (subgen. Azaleastrum) is an evergreen shrub with high ornamental value. This species has been listed as a plant species with extremely small populations (PSESP) for urgent protection by China's Yunnan provincial government in 2021, due to anthropogenic habitat fragmentation. However, limited genomic resources hinder scientifically understanding of genetic threats that the species is currently facing. In this study, we assembled a high-quality haplotype-resolved genome of R. vialii based on PacBio HiFi long reads and Hi-C reads. The assembly contains two haploid genomes with sizes 532.73 Mb and 521.98 Mb, with contig N50 length of 35.67 Mb and 34.70 Mb, respectively. About 99.92% of the assembled sequences could be anchored to 26 pseudochromosomes, and 14 gapless assembled chromosomes were included in this assembly. Additionally, 60,926 protein-coding genes were identified, of which 93.82% were functionally annotated. This is the first reported genome of R. vialii, and hopefully it will lay the foundations for further research into the conservation genomics and horticultural domestication of this ornamentally important species.