Genome survey sequencing of Ailanthus altissima and identification of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers

Abstract Ailanthus altissima is a deciduous tree native to China and introduced to other parts of the world as an ornamental plant. It exhibits resistance to both abiotic and biotic stress factors and has various pharmacological effects and strong allelopathy, generating significant research interests. However, the genome sequence of this species has not been reported, limiting its research development. The purpose of the study was to determine the genome size and characteristics of A. altissima to conduct its genomic survey. Next-generation sequencing and K-mer analysis were employed to measure the genome size of A. altissima. Overall, a total of 61.93 Gb high-quality clean data were acquired, representing approximately 64.09× coverage of the A. altissima genome. The genomic characteristics of A. altissima include a genome size of 966.38 Mbp, a heterozygosis rate of 0.78 %, and a repeat rate of 41.22 %. A total of 735,179 genomic SSRs markers were identified based on genome survey sequences. Alignment analysis showed that A. altissima was closely related to Citrus sinensis and Leitneria florida-na. This study provides basic information for future whole-genomic sequencing of A. altissima. This will facilitate a knowledge of the population structure, genetic diversity, long distance-gene transfer, and pollen-based gene flow analyses of A. altissima populations from its known distribution ranges in China, focusing on planted and natural forest stands.