title: A synteny-based draft genome sequence of the forage grass Lolium perenne.
abstract: Here we report the draft genome sequence of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), an economically important forage and turf grass species that is widely cultivated in temperate regions worldwide. It is classified along with wheat, barley, oats and Brachypodium distachyon in the Pooideae sub-family of the grass family (Poaceae). Transcriptome data was used to identify 28,455 gene models, and we utilized macro-co-linearity between perennial ryegrass and barley, and synteny within the grass family, to establish a synteny-based linear gene order. The gametophytic self-incompatibility mechanism enables the pistil of a plant to reject self-pollen and therefore promote out-crossing. We have used the sequence assembly to characterize transcriptional changes in the stigma during pollination with both compatible and incompatible pollen. Characterization of the pollen transcriptome identified homologs to pollen allergens from a range of species, many of which were expressed to very high levels in mature pollen grains, and are potentially involved in the self-incompatibility mechanism. The genome sequence provides a valuable resource for future breeding efforts based on genomic prediction, and will accelerate the development of new varieties for more productive grasslands.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Genetics, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, Slagelse, 4200, Denmark.
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1179-2272
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Byrne
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Genetics, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, Slagelse, 4200, Denmark.
authors.forename: Istvan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.affiliation: Plant Genome and Systems Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, Neuherberg, 85764, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfeifer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DA, UK.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Armstead
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DA, UK.
authors.forename: Suresh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Swain
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zurich, Universitätstraße 2, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Studer
authors.affiliation: Plant Genome and Systems Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, Neuherberg, 85764, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Genetics, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, Slagelse, 4200, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jacqueline D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Genetics, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, Slagelse, 4200, Denmark.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Czaban
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Genetics, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, Slagelse, 4200, Denmark.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hentrup
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Research Centre Foulum, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, 8830, Tjele, Denmark.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Panitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Research Centre Foulum, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, 8830, Tjele, Denmark.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bendixen
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Research Centre Foulum, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, 8830, Tjele, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hedegaard
authors.affiliation: The Genome Analysis Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caccamo
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Genetics, Aarhus University, Forsøgsvej 1, Slagelse, 4200, Denmark.
authors.forename: Torben
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asp
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D063990:Gene Ontology; D018745:Genome, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D008129:Lolium / Q000235:genetics*; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D010802:Phylogeny; D000069600:Plant Breeding / Q000379:methods; D006109:Poaceae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D011058:Pollen / Q000235:genetics; D054817:Pollination / Q000235:genetics; D060436:Self-Incompatibility in Flowering Plants / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods*; D026801:Synteny; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics
keywords: Lolium perenne; genome sequence; perennial ryegrass; pollen allergens; self-incompatability