A high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly of herbaceous bamboo species Lithachne pauciflora

Lithachne pauciflora is a herbaceous bamboo species characterized by its short height, low degree of lignification, and dimorphic florets, making it a special model for studying the key trait evolution in bamboo. Here, we assembled a high-quality, chromosome-level genome of L. pauciflora by integrating PacBio HiFi long reads, short reads, and Hi-C technology. The final genome assembly is 1.7 Gb with a scaffold N50 of 147.73 Mb. 99.3% of sequences were anchored onto 11 pseudo-chromosomes, with a BUSCO score of 98.6% and LAI value of 21. The total length of repeat elements is 1.43 Gb, accounting for 84.02% of the whole genome assembly. We annotated 32,696 protein-coding genes, of which 94.8% received functional annotations. This genome assembly of L. pauciflora provides valuable insights into chromosomal evolution and key trait evolution in herbaceous bamboo.