Genome assembly, annotation and comparative analysis of the cattail Typha latifolia

Abstract

Cattails (Typha species) comprise a genus of emergent wetland plants with a global distribution. Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia are two of the most widespread species, and in areas of sympatry can interbreed to produce the hybrid Typha x glauca. In some regions the relatively high fitness of T. x glauca allows it to outcompete and displace both parent species, while simultaneously reducing plant and invertebrate biodiversity, and modifying nutrient and water cycling. We generated a high-quality whole genome assembly of T. latifolia using PacBio long-read and high coverage Illumina sequence that will facilitate evolutionary and ecological studies in this hybrid zone. Genome size was 287 Mb and consisted of 1,189 scaffolds, with an N50 of 8.706 Mb; 43.84% of the genome were identified as repetitive elements. The assembly has a BUSCO score of 96.03%, and 27,432 genes and 2,700 RNA sequences were putatively identified. Comparative analysis detected over 9,000 shared orthologues with related taxa and phylogenomic analysis supported Typha latifolia as a divergent lineage within Poales. This high-quality scaffold-level reference genome will provide a useful resource for future population genomic analyses and improve our understanding of Typha hybrid dynamics.