Advances of Whole Genome Sequencing in Strawberry with NGS Technologies

Abstract

Next generation sequencing (NGS) is one of the most impactful technologies to appear in the 21^st century, and has already brought important changes to agriculture, especially in the field of breeding. Construction of a reference genome is key to the advancement of genomic studies, and therefore, de novo whole genome assembly has been performed in various plants, including strawberry. Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) is an allo-octoploid species (2n = 8x = 56), which has four discriminable subgenomes. Because of its complex genome structure, de novo whole genome assembly in strawberry has been considered a difficult challenge. However, recent advances of NGS technologies have allowed the construction of chromosome-scale de novo whole genome assembly. In this manuscript, we review the recent advances in de novo whole genome sequencing in strawberry and other Fragaria species. The genome structure and domestication history in strawberry is one of the largest questions in genetic and genomic studies in strawberry. Therefore, the domestication history in strawberry is also be reviewed based on comparisons of genes and genome sequences across Fragaria species.