ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Genetics, Epigenetics and Chromosome Biology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1580779
The near-complete genome assembly of Ampelopsis grossedentata provides insights into its origin, evolution, and the regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Key Laboratory of Forestry Biotechnology of Hunan Province, Central South University Forestry and Technology, Changsha, China
- 2Central South University Forestry and Technology, Changsha, China
- 3Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
- 4Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan Province, China
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Ampelopsis grossedentata, native to southern China, is renowned for its therapeutic and nutritional benefits, often called the "king of flavonoids" due to its high dihydromyricetin content. The dried stems, leaves, and shoot tips, known as "vine tea," are consumed as a health beverage and traditional remedy for colds and fever. In this study, we assembled a near-complete reference genome of A. grossedentata spanning 555.42 Mb, where Hi-C-based correction resolved 18 out of its 20 chromosomes into gap-free assemblies. The genome, anchored to 20 chromosomes, comprises 44 contigs with an N50 of 21.93 Mb and 28 scaffolds with an N50 of 30.45 Mb, containing 25,999 protein-coding genes and 62.62% repetitive sequences. The A. grossedentata experienced two whole-genome duplication (WGD) events: a whole-genome triplication event shared by the core angiosperms and a WGD event shared with Vitaceae family. Through transcriptome-metabolome integrated analysis, AgF3H1 gene was identified as playing a crucial role in the biosynthesis of dihydromyricetin (a flavanonol) in A. grossedentata. The AgF3H gene is essential for converting pentahydroxy flavones to dihydromyricetin within the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway in A. grossedentata, as confirmed by molecular docking results. Thus, we postulate that AgF3H1 serves as a pivotal regulatory gene in the dihydromyricetin biosynthetic pathway of A. grossedentata. These insights offer valuable genetic resources for the molecular breeding of A. grossedentata and enhance our comprehension of Vitaceae genomic evolution and flavonoid biosynthesis regulation in medicinal and nutritional plants.
Keywords: Ampelopsis grossedentata, Reference genome, WGD, WGCNA, AgF3H1
Received: 21 Feb 2025; Accepted: 17 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yao, Feng, Wu, Zhang, Wang, Ai, Wang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yiqiang Wang, Central South University Forestry and Technology, Changsha, China
Meng Li, Central South University Forestry and Technology, Changsha, China
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