Sunflower Genome Update

Here we report an improved draft sequence of the 3.6 Gb genome of cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus), the most economically important crop in the Compositae family. The genome has now been assembled into 19 pseudomolecules representing the 17 nuclear chromosomes, the chloroplast, and the mitochondrial genome. We used a combination of 24x 454 whole-genome shotgun (WGS) sequencing and 80x Illumina WGS, along with ultra-high density genetic and physical maps that serve as scaffolds for the assembled WGS sequences. Further error correction and gap filling will be accomplished by sequencing thousands of individual BACs. These results demonstrate the utility of several novel approaches for assembling complex eukaryotic genomes larger than that of humans.