Genomes and transcriptomes of male and female Populus x sibirica plants
Male and female plants of Populus x sibirica, which is a hybrid between species from sections Aigeiros and Tacamahaca, were examined for sex-associated differences at genome and transcriptome levels. Genomic sequencing on the Oxford Nanopore Technologies platform (MinION) allowed obtaining high-quality genome assemblies and identification of sex-determining region haplotypes. Genomic and transcriptomic sequencing on the Illumina platform (HiSeq 2500 and NextSeq 500) provided data on sex-associated DNA polymorphisms and gene expression in leaves, flowers, and catkin axes. Targeted sequencing of TCP, CLC, and MET1 genes from the sex-determining region led to revealing sex-associated allele-specific expression in examined tissues.