Filling the gaps in Australian angiosperm genomes

The Genomics for Australian Plants Initiative (GAP) reference genome project aimed to provide high quality angiosperm genomes for previously underrepresented taxonomic groups with evolutionary significance, cultural value, biogeographic importance, and concerning conservation status in Australia. Here we present the results of long-read genomic sequencing and assembly for 29 selected angiosperm species, including analyses of genome completeness, contiguity, ploidy, gene annotations, and repeat content. Plastid and mitochondrion genomes were also assembled and annotated. The data provided a diverse selection of genome size, ploidy and complexity, which were compared. The long read sequencing methods, PacBio HiFi, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT), used in tandem and individually where appropriate, provided high quality near complete telomere to telomere assemblies. These genomes provide valuable genomic resources for Australian plants that will enable and extend research in evolution, conservation, functional adaptation, and comparative genomics.