"A near chromosome-level assembly of the serpentine endemic columbine, Aquilegia eximia".

Abstract

The flowering plant genus Aquilegia (columbine) is an important contributor to biodiversity and an example of both biotic and abiotic niche adaptation across much of the Northern Hemisphere, and especially in California. Here we report a near chromosome level draft genome assembly for A. eximia, a California endemic species. A. eximia is a serpentine-soil specialist and is very closely related to two columbine species also being studied for the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP), A. formosa (widespread) and A. pubescens (high alpine). Utilizing high throughput, long reads (PacBio) and chromatin capture (Omni-C), the A. eximia genome makes marked contiguity improvements compared to the existing reference genome for another North American columbine, A. coerulea 'Goldsmith'. The A. eximia genome will also be more useful for aligning whole genome resequencing data from California columbines than the genomes for more distantly related columbine species, the Asian A. oxysepala var. kansuensis and the European A. vulgaris. Notably we found evidence that A. eximia, A. coerulea 'Goldsmith' and A. vulgaris all share the same overall genome structure and differ from A. oxysepala var. kansuensis by the same reciprocal translocation. The A. eximia reference genome will be a valuable tool for identifying patterns of plant biodiversity across California for the CCGP, as well as for future population genomic and trait mapping studies.