A reference assembly for the legume cover crop hairy vetch (Vicia villosa)

GigaByte. 2023 Nov 13:2023:gigabyte98. doi: 10.46471/gigabyte.98. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Vicia villosa is an incompletely domesticated annual legume of the Fabaceae family native to Europe and Western Asia. V. villosa is widely used as a cover crop and forage due to its ability to withstand harsh winters. Here, we generated a reference-quality genome assembly (Vvill1.0) from low error-rate long-sequence reads to improve the genetic-based trait selection of this species. Our Vvill1.0 assembly includes seven scaffolds corresponding to the seven estimated linkage groups and comprising approximately 68% of the total genome size of 2.03 Gbp. This assembly is expected to be a useful resource for genetically improving this emerging cover crop species and provide useful insights into legume genomics and plant genome evolution.

Grants and funding

USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 5090-31000-026-00D, DMB; USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 5090-21000-071-00D, MLS; USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 5090-21000-001-00D, HR; USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 3040-31000-100-00D, TPLS; USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, 2018-67013-27570, HR; USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, 2018-67013-27570, LKK.