Haplotype-resolved genome assembly of the upas tree (Antiaris toxicaria)

Abstract

Abstract The upas tree (Antiaris toxicaria Lesch.) is a medically important plant that contains various specialized metabolites with significant bioactivity. The lack of a reference genome hinders the in-depth study as well as rational exploitation and conservation of this plant. Here, we present the first holotype-resolved chromosome-scale genome of the upas tree. The assembled genome consisted of 26 chromosomes that contain 1.34 Gb of sequencing data with a contig N50 length of 60 Mb. Genome annotation identified 43,500 protein-coding genes in the upas tree genome, of which 98.75% were functionally annotated. This high-quality reference genome will lay the foundation for further studies on the evolution and functional genomics of the upas tree.