We report an improved draft nucleotide sequence of the 2.3-gigabase genome of maize, an important crop plant and model for biological research. Over 32,000 genes were predicted, of which 99.8% were placed on reference chromosomes. Nearly 85% of the genome is composed of hundreds of families of transposable elements, dispersed nonuniformly across the genome. These were responsible for the capture and amplification of numerous gene fragments and affect the composition, sizes, and positions of centromeres. We also report on the correlation of methylation-poor regions with Mu transposon insertions and recombination, and copy number variants with insertions and/or deletions, as well as how uneven gene losses between duplicated regions were involved in returning an ancient allotetraploid to a genetically diploid state. These analyses inform and set the stage for further investigations to improve our understanding of the domestication and agricultural improvements of maize.

Plants are associated with a complex microbiota that contributes to nutrient acquisition, plant growth, and plant defense. Nitrogen-fixing microbial associations are efficient and well characterized in legumes but are limited in cereals, including maize. We studied an indigenous landrace of maize grown in nitrogen-depleted soils in the Sierra Mixe region of Oaxaca, Mexico. This landrace is characterized by the extensive development of aerial roots that secrete a carbohydrate-rich mucilage. Analysis of the mucilage microbiota indicated that it was enriched in taxa for which many known species are diazotrophic, was enriched for homologs of genes encoding nitrogenase subunits, and harbored active nitrogenase activity as assessed by acetylene reduction and 15N2 incorporation assays. Field experiments in Sierra Mixe using 15N natural abundance or 15N-enrichment assessments over 5 years indicated that atmospheric nitrogen fixation contributed 29%–82% of the nitrogen nutrition of Sierra Mixe maize.

the 3,000 accessions can be subdivided into nine subpopulations, where most accessions from close subgroups could be associated to geographic origin 12. One critical piece of information missing from these analyses is the fact that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and structural variations (SVs) present in subpopulation specific genomic regions have yet to be detected because the 3K-RG data set was only aligned to a single reference genome. Therefore, the next logical step, to capture and understand genetic variation pan-subpopulation-wide is to map the 3K-RG dataset to high-quality reference genomes that represent each of the subpopulations of cultivated Asian rice. At present, only a handful high-quality rice genomes for cultivated rice are publicly available 5,6,13,14 , thus, there is an immediate need for such a comprehensive resource to be created, which is the subject of this Data Descriptor. Here we present a reanalysis of the population structure analysis discussed above 12 and show that the 3K-RG dataset can be further subdivided into a total of 15 subpopulations. We then present the generation of 12 new and near-gap-free high-quality PacBio long-read reference genomes from representative accessions of the 12 subpopulations of cultivated Asian rice for which no high-quality reference genomes exist. All 12 genomes were assembled with more than 100x genome coverage PacBio long-read sequence data and then validated with Bionano optical maps 15. The number of contigs covering each of the twelve assemblies, excluding unplaced contigs, ranged from 15 (GOBOL SAIL (BALAM)::IRGC 26624-2) to 104 (IR 64). The contig N50 value for the 12-genome dataset ranged from 7.35 Mb to 31.91 Mb. When combined with 4 previously published genomes (i.e. Minghui 63 (MH 63), Zhenshan 97 (ZS 97) 13,14 , N 22 5 and the IRGSP RefSeq. 6), this 16-genome dataset can be used to represent the K = 15 population/admixture structure of cultivated Asian rice. Methods ethics statement. This work was approved by the University of Arizona (UA),

Legumes are essential components of agricultural systems because they enrich the soil in nitrogen and require little environmentally deleterious fertilizers. A complex symbiotic association between legumes and nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria called rhizobia culminates in the development of root nodules, where rhizobia fix atmospheric nitrogen and transfer it to their plant host. Here we describe a quantitative proteomic atlas of the model legume Medicago truncatula and its rhizobial symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti, which includes more than 23,000 proteins, 20,000 phosphorylation sites, and 700 lysine acetylation sites. Our analysis provides insight into mechanisms regulating symbiosis. We identify a calmodulin-binding protein as a key regulator in the host and assign putative roles and targets to host factors (bioactive peptides) that control gene expression in the symbiont. Further mining of this proteomic resource may enable engineering of crops and their microbial partners to increase agricultural productivity and sustainability.

The large size and complexity of most fern genomes have hampered efforts to elucidate fundamental aspects of fern biology and land plant evolution through genome-enabled research. Here we present a chromosomal genome assembly and associated methylome, transcriptome and metabolome analyses for the model fern species Ceratopteris richardii. The assembly reveals a history of remarkably dynamic genome evolution including rapid changes in genome content and structure following the most recent whole-genome duplication approximately 60 million years ago. These changes include massive gene loss, rampant tandem duplications and multiple horizontal gene transfers from bacteria, contributing to the diversification of defence-related gene families. The insertion of transposable elements into introns has led to the large size of the Ceratopteris genome and to exceptionally long genes relative to other plants. Gene family analyses indicate that genes directing seed development were co-opted from those controlling the development of fern sporangia, providing insights into seed plant evolution. Our findings and annotated genome assembly extend the utility of Ceratopteris as a model for investigating and teaching plant biology.