The chromosome-level genome for Toxicodendron vernicifluum provides crucial insights into Anacardiaceae evolution and urushiol biosynthesis

The lacquer tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Stokes) F.A. Barkley) is an important tree with economic, industrial, and medicinal values. Here, we generated the reference genome of T. vernicifluum at the chromosome level with 491.93 Mb in size, in which 98.26% of the assembled contigs were anchored onto 15 pseudochromosomes with the scaffold N50 of 32.97 Mb. Comparative genomic analysis revealed the gene families related to urushiol biosynthesis were expanded, contributing to the ecological fitness and biological adaptability of the lacquer tree. We combined multi-omics data to identify genes that encode key enzymes in the T. vernicifluum urushiol and lignin biosynthetic pathways. Furthermore, the unique active metabolites, such as butin and fisetin, in cultivar lacquers were identified by metabolism profiling. Our work would provide crucial insights into metabolite synthesis such as urushiol and lignin, meanwhile offer a basis for further exploration of the cultivation and breeding of T. vernicifluum and other Anacardiaceae members.

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We provide the first chromosome-level genome for Toxicodendron vernicifluum

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We explore the phylogenetic position of lacquer tree

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We identify genes involved in the urushiol and lignin biosynthetic pathways

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Analysis of the unique active metabolites in cultivar lacquers by LC-MS/MS is reported