Chromosome-level genome assembly of Jiaobai (Zizania latifolia, Poceace)

Cultivated Zizania latifolia, commonly known as Jiaobai, was domesticated as a special form of a plant-fungus symbiont. It is one of the most popular aquatic vegetables endemic to East Asia. However, the absence of a reference genome has hindered research on this important vegetable. In this study, we sequenced and assembled a chromosome-level genome of Jiaobai, the size of which is 596.34 Mb with a contig N50 of 32.74 Mb by integrating PacBio, Illumina and chromosome conformation capture data. A total of 571.70 Mb (95.87%) of the assembled sequences were anchored onto 17 chromosomes and 36,286 gene models were predicted. This study provides valuable genomic resources for uncovering the mechanisms underlying plant-pathogenic fungus interactions and developing genomics-assisted breeding programs in Jiaobai.