Cornus wilsoniana W. is a woody oil plant with high oil content and stronghypolipidemic effects, making it a valuable species for medicinal, landscaping,and ecological purposes in China. To advance genetic research on this species,we employed PacBio together with Hi-C data to create a draft genome assembly forC. wilsoniana. Based on an 11-chromosome anchored chromosome-level assembly, theestimated genome size was determined to be 843.51 Mb. The N50 contig size andN50 scaffold size were calculated to be 4.49 and 78.00 Mb, respectively.Furthermore, 30 474 protein-coding genes were annotated. Comparative genomicsanalysis revealed that C. wilsoniana diverged from its closest species ~12.46million years ago (Mya). Furthermore, the divergence between Cornaceae andNyssaceae occurred >62.22 Mya. We also found evidence of whole-genomeduplication events and whole-genome triplication γ, occurring at ~44.90 and115.86 Mya. We further inferred the origins of chromosomes, which sheds light onthe complex evolutionary history of the karyotype of C. wilsoniana. Throughtranscriptional and metabolic analysis, we identified two FAD2 homologous genesthat may play a crucial role in controlling the oleic to linoleic acid ratio. Wefurther investigated the correlation between metabolites and genes andidentified 33 MADS-TF homologous genes that may affect flower morphology in C.wilsoniana. Overall, this study lays the groundwork for future research aimed atidentifying the genetic basis of crucial traits in C. wilsoniana.
School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University
Nanjing 210023, China