BackgroundThe size and complexity of conifer genomes has, until now, prevented full genome sequencing and assembly. The large research community and economic importance of loblolly pine, Pinus taeda L., made it an early candidate for reference sequence determination.ResultsWe develop a novel strategy to sequence the genome of loblolly pine that combines unique aspects of pine reproductive biology and genome assembly methodology. We use a whole genome shotgun approach relying primarily on next generation sequence generated from a single haploid seed megagametophyte from a loblolly pine tree, 20-1010, that has been used in industrial forest tree breeding. The resulting sequence and assembly was used to generate a draft genome spanning 23.2 Gbp and containing 20.1 Gbp with an N50 scaffold size of 66.9 kbp, making it a significant improvement over available conifer genomes. The long scaffold lengths allow the annotation of 50,172 gene models with intron lengths averaging over 2.7 kbp and sometimes exceeding 100 kbp in length. Analysis of orthologous gene sets identifies gene families that may be unique to conifers. We further characterize and expand the existing repeat library based on the de novo analysis of the repetitive content, estimated to encompass 82% of the genome.ConclusionsIn addition to its value as a resource for researchers and breeders, the loblolly pine genome sequence and assembly reported here demonstrates a novel approach to sequencing the large and complex genomes of this important group of plants that can now be widely applied.

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RESUMENSe describe la morfología del polen de ocho especies del género Macroptilium con distribución en México y Centroamérica, a partir de granos acetolizados y observados bajo microscopio de luz y microscopio electrónico de barrido. En esta región geográfica los miembros del género tienen granos de polen tricolporados, prolado-esferoidales, suboblados a rara vez oblado-esferoidales, de tamaño generalmente mediano. De acuerdo con las diferencias en las ectoaberturas (longitud, forma del ápice y membrana), ornamentación de la exina, engrosamiento del margo y contorno en vista polar se distinguen dos tipos polínicos: Tipo I. Polen con colpos cortos (brevicolpos), margo engrosado, ápice de la ectoabertura redondeado, membrana granular, contorno angular convexo, exina tectada o semitectada, punctada a rugulada en el apocolpio y microrreticulada a rugulada en el mesocolpio; característico de la sección Microcochle, representada por M. gibbosifolium, M. pedatum y M. supinum. Tipo II. Polen con colpos largos (longicolpos), margo no engrosado, ápice de la ectoabertura agudo, membrana granular, contorno circular a semiangular, exina tectada a semitectada, psilada, punctada, foveolada a microrreticulada en el apocolpio y microrreticulada a foveolada en el mesocolpio; este tipo distingue a las especies de la sección Macroptilium, incluyendo a M. atropurpureum, M. erythroloma, M. gracile, M. lathyroides y M. longipedunculatum. Por primera vez se proveen descripciones palinológicas para cinco especies del género.Palabras clave: Centroamérica, Leguminosae, Macroptilium, México, polen. ABSTRACTThe pollen morphology of eight Macroptilium species occurring in Mexico and Central America is described by means of light and scanning microscopy. In this region,