High-quality genome assembly of several Noccaea caerulescens accessions reveals gene expansion events associated with metal adaptation and hyperaccumulation
- 1CNRS
Abstract
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the growth of the world's population and industrial development have led to increased soil pollution with metals, which poses a threat to the environment and human health. In this context, plants that are adapted to metalliferous soils and hyperaccumulate metals offer an opportunity to develop phytotechnologies for remediating metal-polluted soils. However, the molecular mechanisms by which plants tolerate and hyperaccumulate metals are not yet fully understood, which limits the improvement of these technologies. The metal hyperaccumulator species Noccaea caerulescens, belonging to the Brassicaceae family, is being developed as a genetic model to decipher these mechanisms. In this study, we have significantly improved the genome assembly of the N. caerulescens Cira accession and have produced high-quality assemblies for five additional accessions originating from different soil types and genetic groups. We used these high-quality assemblies to identify gene copy number variation associated with the metal hyperaccumulation trait in the Noccaea genus. Our analysis revealed that gene copy number variation affects a wide variety of biological functions in Noccaea, including genes that encode metal transporters belonging to the HMA, NRAMP and ZIP families. Notably, duplications affecting the magnesium transporter MGR2 suggest that the adaptation to ultramafic soils may be an ancestral trait in Noccaea. Finally, the association of transposable elements with gene duplications suggests that transposon activity may have played an important role in the evolution of metal hyperaccumulation in this genus.
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BibTeX
@misc{kuzmik2026highquality,
title = {{High-quality genome assembly of several Noccaea caerulescens accessions reveals gene expansion events associated with metal adaptation and hyperaccumulation}},
author = {M. Kuzmik and O. Courtin and C. Klopp and M.-C. Carpentier and n. rodde and c. callot and A. Ausset and C. Lopez-Roques and C. Vandecasteele and v. gautier and e. Belmonte and e. Flaven and C. Devaux and A. Mignot and M. Mirouze and S. MERLOT},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.20.760424},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.760424v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - High-quality genome assembly of several Noccaea caerulescens accessions reveals gene expansion events associated with metal adaptation and hyperaccumulation
AU - M. Kuzmik
AU - O. Courtin
AU - C. Klopp
AU - M.-C. Carpentier
AU - n. rodde
AU - c. callot
AU - A. Ausset
AU - C. Lopez-Roques
AU - C. Vandecasteele
AU - v. gautier
AU - e. Belmonte
AU - e. Flaven
AU - C. Devaux
AU - A. Mignot
AU - M. Mirouze
AU - S. MERLOT
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.20.760424
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.760424v1
AB - Since the beginning of the 20th century, the growth of the world's population and industrial development have led to increased soil pollution with metals, which poses a threat to the environment and human health. In this context, plants that are adapted to metalliferous soils and hyperaccumulate metals offer an opportunity to develop phytotechnologies for remediating metal-polluted soils. However, the molecular mechanisms by which plants tolerate and hyperaccumulate metals are not yet fully understood, which limits the improvement of these technologies. The metal hyperaccumulator species Noccaea caerulescens, belonging to the Brassicaceae family, is being developed as a genetic model to decipher these mechanisms. In this study, we have significantly improved the genome assembly of the N. caerulescens Cira accession and have produced high-quality assemblies for five additional accessions originating from different soil types and genetic groups. We used these high-quality assemblies to identify gene copy number variation associated with the metal hyperaccumulation trait in the Noccaea genus. Our analysis revealed that gene copy number variation affects a wide variety of biological functions in Noccaea, including genes that encode metal transporters belonging to the HMA, NRAMP and ZIP families. Notably, duplications affecting the magnesium transporter MGR2 suggest that the adaptation to ultramafic soils may be an ancestral trait in Noccaea. Finally, the association of transposable elements with gene duplications suggests that transposon activity may have played an important role in the evolution of metal hyperaccumulation in this genus.
ER -