The genome of the recently domesticated crop plant sugar beet (Beta vulgaris)

A full genome sequence is presented of sugar beet Beta vulgaris, the first plant belonging to Caryophyllales to have its genome sequenced; spinach was sequenced to enable inter-clade comparisons, and intraspecific variation was analysed by comparative genomics of a progenitor of all beet crops and additional sugar beet accessions. Industrial production of sugar from sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) began in Europe in the early nineteenth century, and in the intervening 200 years the sugar content of the commonly used cultivars has increased from 8% to 18%. A high-quality reference genome sequence for sugar beet is published in this issue, together with that of the related spinach plant (Spinacia oleracea) and assembled genomes from four additional sugar beet breeding lines. Information held in these genome sequences will be useful for the characterization of genes involved in sugar production and identification of targets for breeding efforts, as well as towards its application as a sustainable energy crop. Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) is an important crop of temperate climates which provides nearly 30% of the world’s annual sugar production and is a source for bioethanol and animal feed. The species belongs to the order of Caryophylalles, is diploid with 2n = 18 chromosomes, has an estimated genome size of 714–758 megabases1 and shares an ancient genome triplication with other eudicot plants2. Leafy beets have been cultivated since Roman times, but sugar beet is one of the most recently domesticated crops. It arose in the late eighteenth century when lines accumulating sugar in the storage root were selected from crosses made with chard and fodder beet3. Here we present a reference genome sequence for sugar beet as the first non-rosid, non-asterid eudicot genome, advancing comparative genomics and phylogenetic reconstructions. The genome sequence comprises 567 megabases, of which 85% could be assigned to chromosomes. The assembly covers a large proportion of the repetitive sequence content that was estimated4 to be 63%. We predicted 27,421 protein-coding genes supported by transcript data and annotated them on the basis of sequence homology. Phylogenetic analyses provided evidence for the separation of Caryophyllales before the split of asterids and rosids, and revealed lineage-specific gene family expansions and losses. We sequenced spinach (Spinacia oleracea), another Caryophyllales species, and validated features that separate this clade from rosids and asterids. Intraspecific genomic variation was analysed based on the genome sequences of sea beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima; progenitor of all beet crops) and four additional sugar beet accessions. We identified seven million variant positions in the reference genome, and also large regions of low variability, indicating artificial selection. The sugar beet genome sequence enables the identification of genes affecting agronomically relevant traits, supports molecular breeding and maximizes the plant’s potential in energy biotechnology.