Chromosome-scale assembly of apple mint (Mentha suaveolens)

• Published in: BMC genetics Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 1 - 3
• Main Authors: Firl, Alana, Lieberman, Meric C, Kippes, Nestor, Tsai, Helen, Dowd, Eric, Comai, Luca, Henry, Isabelle M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central Ltd 08-11-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Agricultural research; Annotations; Chemical properties; Chromosome; Chromosomes; Cloning; Cultivars; Data Note; Diploids; Essential oils; Gene expression; Genetic aspects; Genome assembly; Genome sequencing; Genomes; Genomics; Hybridization; Leaves; Mentha; Mentha aquatica; Mentha piperita; Mentha spicata; Mentha suaveolens; Mint; Mint oils; Mints (Plants); Oil; Pipelines; Production processes; United States; United States > US; Chicago Illinois
• ISSN: 2730-6844; 2730-6844; 1471-2156
• DOI: 10.1186/s12863-024-01278-y

Mint oil is used in various commercial applications world-wide. Mint oil is typically harvested from commercial clones of peppermint or spearmints. Spearmints are the product of a cross between two diploid species: Mentha longifolia (horse mint) and Mentha suaveolens (apple mint). Peppermints are the product of an additional hybridization step between spearmint and an octoploid Mentha aquatica (water mint). Here, we present a chromosome-scale assembly of the genome of a clone of M. suaveolens. Together with the previously assembled genome of M. longifolia, these assemblies are instrumental in addressing questions regarding the origins of spearmint and peppermint oil and the genomic composition of commercial spearmints, and to start elaborating strategies for mint cultivar improvement.