Abstract

Australian pine (Casuarina spp.) is extensively planted in tropical and subtropical regions for wood production, shelterbelts, environmental protection, and ecological restoration. To characterize Casuarina genomic diversity, we sequenced and constructed de novo genome assemblies of the three most widely planted species: C. equisetifolia, C. glauca, and C. cunninghamiana. We generated chromosome-scale genome sequences using both Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) Sequel sequencing and chromosome conformation capture technology (Hi-C). The total genome sizes for C. equisetifolia, C. glauca, and C. cunninghamiana are 268,942,579 bp, 296,631,783 bp, and 293,483,606 bp, respectively, of which 25.91%, 27.15%, and 27.74% were annotated as repetitive sequences. We annotated 23,162, 24,673, and 24,674 protein-coding genes in C. equisetifolia, C. glauca, and C. cunninghamiana, respectively. We then collected branchlets from male and female individuals for whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (BS-seq) to explore the epigenetic regulation of sex determination in these three species. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) revealed differential expression of phytohormone-related genes between male and female plants. In summary, this study generated three chromosome-level genome assemblies and comprehensive DNA methylation and transcriptome datasets from both male and female material for three Casuarina species, providing a basis for the comprehensive investigation of genomic diversity and functional gene discovery of Casuarina in the future.