Whole-genome, transcriptome, and methylome analyses provide insights into the evolution of platycoside biosynthesis in Platycodon grandiflorus, a medicinal plant

Triterpenoid saponins (TSs) are common plant defense phytochemicals with potential pharmaceutical properties. Platycodon grandiflorus (Campanulaceae) has been traditionally used to treat bronchitis and asthma in East Asia. The oleanane-type TSs, platycosides, are a major component of the P. grandiflorus root extract. Recent studies show that platycosides exhibit anti-inflammatory, antiobesity, anticancer, antiviral, and antiallergy properties. However, the evolutionary history of platycoside biosynthesis genes remains unknown. In this study, we sequenced the genome of P. grandiflorus and investigated the genes involved in platycoside biosynthesis. The draft genome of P. grandiflorus is 680.1Mb long and contains 40,017 protein-coding genes. Genomic analysis revealed that the CYP716 family genes play a major role in platycoside oxidation. The CYP716 gene family of P. grandiflorus was much larger than that of other Asterid species. Orthologous gene annotation also revealed the expansion of beta -amyrin synthases (bASs) in P. grandiflorus, which was confirmed by tissue-specific gene expression. In these expanded gene families, we identified key genes showing preferential expression in roots and association with platycoside biosynthesis. In addition, whole-genome bisulfite sequencing showed that CYP716 and bAS genes are hypomethylated in P. grandiflorus, suggesting that epigenetic modification of these two gene families affects platycoside biosynthesis. Thus whole-genome, transcriptome, and methylome data of P. grandiflorus provide novel insights into the regulation of platycoside biosynthesis by CYP716 and bAS gene families

Chloroplast genome assemblies of Sesamum and Ceratotheca species

This data set contains the chloroplast genome assemblies of six wild sesame relatives, namely Sesamum alatum, Sesamum angolense, Sesamum pedaloides, Sesamum radiatum, Ceratotheca sesamoides and Ceratotheca triloba, and one cultivated sesame Sesamum indicum var. Goenbaek. These wild sesame species belong to the genus Sesamum, which is part of the order Lamiales, and are known for exhibiting diverse phenotypes. The lack of genomic resources for wild species has made it challenging to understand the phylogenetic relationships between cultivated and wild sesame species. To address this gap, short-read genomic data (NCBI Project: PRJNA860226) were generated, and their chloroplast genomes were assembled, annotated, and used to reconstruct the phylogeny of the Sesamum species complex at a molecular level. This data set provides an important resource for researchers studying the evolutionary history of sesame species and can be used for comparative genomic analyses, phylogenetic inference, and other related studies. The dataset is deposited on Figshare and is openly accessible to the research community.</p