Sinapis genomes provide insights into whole-genome triplication and divergence patterns within tribe Brassiceae

Sinapis alba and Sinapis arvensis are mustard crops within the Brassiceae tribe of the Brassicaceae family, and represent an important genetic resource for crop improvement. We performed the de novo assembly of Brassica nigra, S. alba, and S. arvensis, and conducted comparative genomics to investigate the pattern of genomic evolution since an ancient whole-genome triplication event. Both Sinapis species retained evidence of the Brassiceae whole-genome triplication approximately 20.5 million years ago (Mya), with subgenome dominance observed in gene density, gene expression, and selective constraint. While S. alba diverged from the ancestor of Brassica and Raphanus at approximately 12.5 Mya, the divergence time of S. arvensis and B. nigra was approximately 6.5 Mya. S. arvensis and B. nigra had greater collinearity compared with their relationship to either Brassica rapa or Brassica oleracea. Two chromosomes of S. alba (Sal03 and Sal08) were completely collinear with two ancestral chromosomes proposed in the Ancestral Crucifer Karyotype (ACK) genomic block model, the first time this has been observed in the Brassiceae. These results are consistent with S. alba representing a relatively ancient lineage of the species evolved from the common ancestor of tribe Brassiceae, and suggest that the phylogeny of the Brassica and Sinapis genera requires some revision. Our study provides new insights into the genome evolution and phylogenetic relationships of Brassiceae and provides genomic information for genetic improvement of these plants.