Genome sequence of Kobresia littledalei, the first chromosome-level genome in the family Cyperaceae

Kobresiaplants are important forage resources in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and are essential in maintaining the ecological balance of grasslands. Therefore, it is beneficial to obtainKobresiagenome resources and study the adaptive characteristics ofKobresiaplants in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. We assembled the genome ofKobresia littledaleiC. B. Clarke, which was about 373.85 Mb in size. 96.82% of the bases were attached to 29 pseudo-chromosomes, combining PacBio, Illumina and Hi-C sequencing data. Additional investigation of the annotation identified 23,136 protein-coding genes. 98.95% of these were functionally annotated. According to phylogenetic analysis, K. littledaleiin Cyperaceae separated from Poaceae about 97.6 million years ago after separating fromAnanas comosusin Bromeliaceae about 114.3mya. ForK. littledalei, we identified a high-quality genome at the chromosome level. This is the first time a reference genome has been established for a species of Cyperaceae. This genome will help additional studies focusing on the processes of plant adaptation to environments with high altitude and cold weather.