De novo assembly provides new insights into the evolution of Elaeagnus angustifolia L

• Published in: Plant methods 2022-06, Vol.18 (1), p.1-84, Article 84
• Main Authors: Mao, Yunfei, Cui, Xueli, Wang, Haiyan, Qin, Xin, Liu, Yangbo, Yin, Yijun, Su, Xiafei, Tang, Juan, Wang, Fengling, Ma, Fengwang, Duan, Naibin, Zhang, Donglin, Hu, Yanli, Wang, Wenli, Wei, Shaochong, Chen, Xiaoliu, Mao, Zhiquan, Chen, Xuesen, Shen, Xiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abiotic stress; Analysis; Binding; Biomarkers; Deciduous trees; Desertification; Desertification-affected land; Divergence; Drought; Elaeagnaceae; Elaeagnus angustifolia; Elaeagnus angustifolia L; Environmental conditions; Environmental stress; Evolution; Evolution & development; Evolutionary response mechanism; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetic testing; Genome; Genomes; Genomic analysis; Identification and classification; Metal ions; Methods; Nitrogen; Nucleic acids; Nucleotide sequence; Oleasters; Phylogenetics; Proteins; RNA sequencing; Salts; Software; Transcriptomes; Wind; Wind stress
• ISSN: 1746-4811; 1746-4811
• DOI: 10.1186/s13007-022-00915-w

Elaeagnus angustifolia L. is a deciduous tree in the family Elaeagnaceae. It is widely used to study abiotic stress tolerance in plants and to improve desertification-affected land because of its ability to withstand diverse types of environmental stress, such as drought, salt, cold, and wind. However, no studies have examined the mechanisms underlying the resistance of E. angustifolia to environmental stress and its adaptive evolution. Here, we used PacBio, Hi-C, resequencing, and RNA-seq to construct the genome and transcriptome of E. angustifolia and explore its adaptive evolution. The reconstructed genome of E. angustifolia was 526.80 Mb, with a contig N50 of 12.60 Mb and estimated divergence time of 84.24 Mya. Gene family expansion and resequencing analyses showed that the evolution of E. angustifolia was closely related to environmental conditions. After exposure to salt stress, GO pathway analysis showed that new genes identified from the transcriptome were related to ATP-binding, metal ion binding, and nucleic acid binding. The genome sequence of E. angustifolia could be used for comparative genomic analyses of Elaeagnaceae family members and could help elucidate the mechanisms underlying the response of E. angustifolia to drought, salt, cold, and wind stress. Generally, these results provide new insights that could be used to improve desertification-affected land.