Abstract
Aubrieta canescens complex is divided into two subspecies, Au. canescens subsp. canescens, Au. canescens subsp. cilicica and a distinct species, Au. macrostyla, based on molecular phylogeny. We generated a draft assembly of Au. canescens subsp. canescens and Au. macrostyla using paired-end shotgun sequencing. This is the first attempt at genome characterization for the genus. In the presented study, ~165 and ~157 Mbp of the genomes of Au. canescens subsp. canescens and Au. macrostyla were assembled, respectively, and a total of 32 425 and 31 372 gene models were predicted in the genomes of the target taxa, respectively. We corroborated the phylogenomic affinity of taxa with some core Brassicaceae species (Clades A and B) including Arabis alpina. The orthology-based tree suggested that Aubrieta species differentiated from A. alpina 1.3-2.0 mya (million years ago). The genome-wide syntenic comparison of two Aubrieta taxa revealed that Au. canescens subsp. canescens (46 %) and Au. macrostyla (45 %) have an almost identical syntenic gene pair ratio. These novel genome assemblies are the first steps towards the chromosome-level assembly of Au. canescens and understanding the genome diversity within the genus.