Pathology

Phylogenetic tree

Cassia

Character evolution

Evolutionary biology

Biology

Phylogenetics

Gene

Tandem exon duplication

Genome

Traditional Chinese medicine

Alternative medicine

Cinnamomum

Lineage (genetic)

Flowering plant

Lauraceae

Clade

Camphor

Botany

Phylogenomics

Genetics

Traditional medicine

Medicine

Nature Plants

We present reference-quality genome assembly and annotation for the stout camphor tree (Cinnamomum kanehirae (Laurales, Lauraceae)), the first sequenced member of the Magnoliidae comprising four orders (Laurales, Magnoliales, Canellales and Piperales) and over 9,000 species. Phylogenomic analysis of 13 representative seed plant genomes indicates that magnoliid and eudicot lineages share more recent common ancestry than monocots. Two whole-genome duplication events were inferred within the magnoliid lineage: one before divergence of Laurales and Magnoliales and the other within the Lauraceae. Small-scale segmental duplications and tandem duplications also contributed to innovation in the evolutionary history of Cinnamomum. For example, expansion of the terpenoid synthase gene subfamilies within the Laurales spawned the diversity of Cinnamomum monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes.

Stout camphor tree genome fills gaps in understanding of flowering plant genome evolution