Development of genomic resources for cattails (Typha), a globally important macrophyte genus

Abstract

1. BackgroundA critical knowledge gap in freshwater plants research is the lack of genetic tools necessary to answer fundamental questions about their demographic histories, adaptation, and phylogenetic relationships. One example of this is Typha, a global genus of freshwater plants foundational to wetlands that is also becoming an increasingly problematic biological invader in numerous regions worldwide; while important insights have been discovered for this genus, existing markers are insufficient to answer fundamental questions about their demographic histories, adaptation, and phylogenetic relationships, to identify introduced and hybrid lineages, and to examine patterns of hybridisation and introgression. 2. MethodsWe optimised a library preparation and data processing protocol to develop genome-wide nuclear and plastid resources for studying the evolutionary history, genetic structure and diversity, hybridisation, local adaptation, invasiveness, and geographic expansion dynamics of Typha. 3. Main resultsWe sequenced 140 Typha samples and identified [~]120K nuclear SNPs that differentiate T. angustifolia, T. domingensis and T. latifolia and retrieved their plastome sequences. We observed genetic introgression among the three species. 4. ConclusionsFollowing a fast, straightforward, and cost-efficient genomic library preparation protocol, we produced a suite of genome-wide resources to facilitate investigations into the taxonomy and population genetics of Typha and to advance the genomic understanding of wetland plants. 5. ContributionsThe protocol described, the updated chromosome-level genome assembly of T. latifolia, the catalogue of species-specific SNPs, and the chloroplast sequences produced in this study comprise permanent resources that can be applied to study the genetic composition of multiple populations and hybrid zones and will be incorporated into future studies of Typha, an ecologically important and globally invasive macrophyte.