Highly contiguous genome of the medicinal plant Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai

Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai, a member of the family Chloranthaceae, has a rich history of use in traditional Chinese medicine. To date, >400 compounds have been isolated and characterized from this plant. Studying the genome of S. glabra is particularly important for understanding the synthesis and functions of these compounds. This study presents the first genome assembly of S. glabra using nanopore, short-read, and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture sequencing. The final genome assembly was 4.78 Gb, and was grouped into 15 chromosomes. The contig and scaffold N50 values were 602 kb and 226.1 Mb, respectively. Genome annotation revealed 41,423 protein-coding genes, with 80.21% (33,223 genes) annotated into different databases and clustered into 15,026 gene families in S. glabra. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that S. glabra formed a distinct clade with C. sessilifolius, C. salicifolius, and C. demersum. The highly contiguous genome assembly of S. glabra provides a valuable genomic resource for elucidating the genetic basis of this plant and for improving the yield and quality of medicinal plants.