Sequencing the Genome of Sinningia speciosa (Lodd.) Hiern, a Reference for the Neotropical Gesneriaceae

The Gesneriaceae is a moderately large family of flowering plants consisting of ~150 genera and nearly 3,300 species in three subfamilies and many tribes. The family is known for several charismatic ornamental crops such as the African violet (cultivars of Saintpaulia spp.) and the gloxinia (Sinningia speciosa). S. speciosa is an herbaceous perennial species endemic to the Atlantic coastal forest of southeastern Brazil. S. speciosa is a morphologically diverse species in nature, and most populations typically have flowers in various shades of purple. In addition, plants of S. speciosa produce a long-lived perennial tuber. Intense selection and breeding in this species, mainly in the 19^th and the first half of the 20^th centuries, has produced a wide range of different phenotypes, mainly affecting the flower morphology and corolla color. S. speciosa has a small genome, averaging ~300 Mb for wild accessions. We present here the first draft of a genome sequence for this species based on the accession ‘Avenida Niemeyer’ from Rio de Janeiro, with a total assembly size of 373 Mb (N50 = 1,989 sequences). We also compare some genomic features such as assembled repeat content with other species in the Lamiales such as sesame.