Genome structure and evolutionary history of frankincense producing Boswellia sacra
Abdul Latif Khan,
Ahmed Al-Harrasi,
Jin-Peng Wang,
Sajjad Asaf,
Jean-Jack M. Riethoven,
Tariq Shehzad,
Chia-Sin Liew,
Xiao-Ming Song,
Daniel P. Schachtman,
Chao Liu,
Ji-Gao Yu,
Zhi-Kang Zhang,
Fan-Bo Meng,
Jia-Qing Yuan,
Chen-dan Wei,
He Guo,
Xuewen Wang,
Ahmed Al-Rawahi,
In-Jung Lee,
Jeffrey L. Bennetzen,
Xi-Yin Wang
Affiliations
Abdul Latif Khan
Department of Engineering Technology, College of Technology, University of Houston, Sugar Land, TX, 77479, USA
Ahmed Al-Harrasi
Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman; Corresponding author
Jin-Peng Wang
School of Life Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei, China
Sajjad Asaf
Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman
Jean-Jack M. Riethoven
The Nebraska Center for Biotechnology, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
Tariq Shehzad
Plant Genome Mapping Lab, Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Syngenta Crop Protection LLC, Bioinformatics and Genotyping, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, USA
Chia-Sin Liew
The Nebraska Center for Biotechnology, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
Xiao-Ming Song
School of Life Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei, China
Daniel P. Schachtman
Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, NE 68588, USA; Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
Chao Liu
School of Life Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei, China
Ji-Gao Yu
School of Life Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei, China
Zhi-Kang Zhang
School of Life Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei, China
Fan-Bo Meng
School of Life Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei, China
Jia-Qing Yuan
School of Life Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei, China
Chen-dan Wei
School of Life Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei, China
He Guo
School of Life Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei, China
Xuewen Wang
Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
Ahmed Al-Rawahi
Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman
In-Jung Lee
School of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea
Jeffrey L. Bennetzen
Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
Xi-Yin Wang
School of Life Sciences, North China University of Science and Technology, Caofeidian District, Tangshan, Hebei, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Boswellia sacra Flueck (family Burseraceae) tree is wounded to produce frankincense. We report its de novo assembled genome (667.8 Mb) comprising 18,564 high-confidence protein-encoding genes. Comparing conserved single-copy genes across eudicots suggest >97% gene space assembly of B. sacra genome. Evolutionary history shows B. sacra gene-duplications derived from recent paralogous events and retained from ancient hexaploidy shared with other eudicots. The genome indicated a major expansion of Gypsy retroelements in last 2 million years. The B. sacra genetic diversity showed four clades intermixed with a primary genotype—dominating most resin-productive trees. Further, the stem transcriptome revealed that wounding concurrently activates phytohormones signaling, cell wall fortification, and resin terpenoid biosynthesis pathways leading to the synthesis of boswellic acid—a key chemotaxonomic marker of Boswellia. The sequence datasets reported here will serve as a foundation to investigate the genetic determinants of frankincense and other resin-producing species in Burseraceae.
