Yerba mate (<i>Ilex paraguariensis</i>) genome provides new insights into convergent evolution of caffeine biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: Yerba mate (YM, Ilex paraguariensis) is an economically important crop marketed for the elaboration of mate, the third-most widely consumed caffeine-containing infusion worldwide. Here, we report the first genome assembly of this species, which has a total length of 1.06 Gb and contains 53,390 protein-coding genes. Comparative analyses revealed that the large YM genome size is partly due to a whole-genome duplication (Ip-α) during the early evolutionary history of Ilex, in addition to the hexaploidization event (γ) shared by core eudicots. Characterization of the genome allowed us to clone the genes encoding methyltransferase enzymes that catalyse multiple reactions required for caffeine production. To our surprise, this species has converged upon a different biochemical path

SUBMITTER: Vignale FA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11709435 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature