Scientists decode the full genome of a popular flowering tobacco plant
Crop Improvement
The flowering tobacco you plant for its evening fragrance and hummingbird visits just got its genetic instruction manual fully decoded, giving breeders a roadmap to develop new colors, scents, and disease resistance faster.
Nicotiana alata, commonly called flowering tobacco or jasmine tobacco, is a fragrant garden ornamental related to petunias and peppers. Researchers built two complete, highly detailed maps of its DNA, separating out the genetic material inherited from each parent, using several advanced sequencing technologies. This kind of detailed genetic map helps scientists understand how flowers develop and gives plant breeders better tools to create new varieties with desirable traits.
Key Findings
Researchers produced two haplotype-resolved, chromosome-level genome assemblies for Nicotiana alata, meaning both parental sets of chromosomes were separately and completely mapped.
The assemblies combined four sequencing technologies: PacBio HiFi, Oxford Nanopore, Illumina short-read, and Hi-C, for high accuracy and completeness.
The resource fills a gap in genomic data for this species, supporting future research on floral development, genome evolution, and molecular breeding in the Solanaceae family.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists have mapped the complete genetic blueprint of Nicotiana alata, a flowering tobacco relative prized in gardens, creating a detailed resource that could speed up breeding new ornamental flower varieties and deepen our understanding of how flowers evolved.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Nicotiana alata
Nicotiana alata is an ornamental species in the Solanaceae family and a useful model for floral development, genome evolution and molecular breeding. However, chromosome-level haplotype-resolved ge...
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