Chamaecrista glandulosa var. mirabilis genome project
Chamaecrista glandulosa var. mirabilis is a rare endemic and endangered plant species in Puerto Rico. It belongs to the Fabaceae family and Caesalpinioideae subfamily. It is endemic to white silica sands of the north coast of Puerto Rico at elevations near sea level.Its original distribution was between the municipalities of Manati, Vega Baja, and Dorado. It is specific to silica sands (highly acidic soils composed of quartz and silica crystals). It is a prostrate shrub that measures 1-10 CM tall. Its leaves are compound, measure more than 5.6 cm long, and contain petiolar glands. Linear leaflets in pairs up to 18 per leaf. Yellow flowers with porosoidal anthers. This species exhibits the melitophilia syndrome and is pollinated strictly by native bees of Puerto Rico that generate vibrations in the anthers at varying frequencies.The species was classified as endangered on April 5, 1990 according to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (USFWS 2015). It is endangered due to sand extraction, deforestation, and urban and industrial expansion (USFWS 1994). ( Seed Germination, Post-fire Plant Growth and Conservation of the Rare Endemic and Endangered Chamaecrista glandulosa var. mirabilis (Fabaceae) Fernando J. Vila Terrada, Jonathan A. Lopez Colon bioRxiv 2022.03.04.483036; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.04.483036 ).In this project, we worked with a group of high school students as part of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Sequence-a-genome course to sequence a specimen using Nanopore sequencing.