A telomere-to-telomere reference genome for Rosa roxburghii reveals lineage-specific diversification of triterpenoid biosynthesis
Abstract
Rosa roxburghii ( RRT ) is a nutritionally and medicinally important Rosaceae species that accumulates diverse bioactive compounds, making it an excellent system for investigating the genetic basis and evolutionary diversification of specialized metabolism. Here, we report a complete telomere-to-telomere (T2T), gap-free genome assembly of the elite cultivar ‘Guinong No. 5’ ( RRT5 ), comprising 494.57 Mb with a contig N50 of 51.44 Mb and a base accuracy of over 99.99%. Of this assembly, 99.9% were anchored to seven pseudo-chromosomes. Multi-omics analyses identified OSC , CYP , and UGT genes potentially involved in triterpenoid biosynthesis, while gene–metabolite correlation analyses highlighted MYB30 and MYB31 as candidate regulators of multiple triterpenoids. Notably, the biosynthetic capacities for Kaji-ichigoside F1 and rosamultin vary across lineages within Rosoideae, likely reflecting lineage-specific gene gain or loss and/or evolutionary divergence in regulatory pathways. Together, the RRT5 genome, transcriptome, and profiling of the eight key triterpenoids provide a valuable resource for elucidating triterpenoid biosynthesis, regulation, and evolution, and for guiding genome-informed breeding of R. roxburghii .
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BibTeX
@article{li2026telomeretotelomere,
title = {{A telomere-to-telomere reference genome for Rosa roxburghii reveals lineage-specific diversification of triterpenoid biosynthesis}},
author = {Liangqun Li and Mei Peng and Yanfang Yan and Qun Chen and Hong Liao and Juan Yang and Xiaosheng Yang and Xiaojun Pu},
journal = {Communications Biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s42003-026-11106-x},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-026-11106-x},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A telomere-to-telomere reference genome for Rosa roxburghii reveals lineage-specific diversification of triterpenoid biosynthesis
AU - Liangqun Li
AU - Mei Peng
AU - Yanfang Yan
AU - Qun Chen
AU - Hong Liao
AU - Juan Yang
AU - Xiaosheng Yang
AU - Xiaojun Pu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - Communications Biology
DO - 10.1038/s42003-026-11106-x
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-026-11106-x
AB - Rosa roxburghii ( RRT ) is a nutritionally and medicinally important Rosaceae species that accumulates diverse bioactive compounds, making it an excellent system for investigating the genetic basis and evolutionary diversification of specialized metabolism. Here, we report a complete telomere-to-telomere (T2T), gap-free genome assembly of the elite cultivar ‘Guinong No. 5’ ( RRT5 ), comprising 494.57 Mb with a contig N50 of 51.44 Mb and a base accuracy of over 99.99%. Of this assembly, 99.9% were anchored to seven pseudo-chromosomes. Multi-omics analyses identified OSC , CYP , and UGT genes potentially involved in triterpenoid biosynthesis, while gene–metabolite correlation analyses highlighted MYB30 and MYB31 as candidate regulators of multiple triterpenoids. Notably, the biosynthetic capacities for Kaji-ichigoside F1 and rosamultin vary across lineages within Rosoideae, likely reflecting lineage-specific gene gain or loss and/or evolutionary divergence in regulatory pathways. Together, the RRT5 genome, transcriptome, and profiling of the eight key triterpenoids provide a valuable resource for elucidating triterpenoid biosynthesis, regulation, and evolution, and for guiding genome-informed breeding of R. roxburghii .
SN - 2399-3642
ER -