{
  "id": 13708618,
  "title": "A multi-tissue transcriptome strategy for genomic resource development in Pinus edulis",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/a-multi-tissue-transcriptome-strategy-for-genomic-resource",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-11T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.05.756810v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a significant advancement for conifer genomic research, a multi-tissue transcriptome strategy has been developed for piñon pine (Pinus edulis). This approach, which assembles a reference transcriptome from four diploid tissues (needle, phloem, root, vegetative bud) and one haploid tissue (megagametophyte), could prove valuable for other non-model plants with large genomes. The strategy was designed to enhance probe design and address the challenge of selecting loci without a reference genome, a common barrier in targeted exon-capture methods. By prioritizing highly expressed P. edulis transcripts and those matching a conifer exon database, the researchers were able to design a probe-set that recovered 76% of conserved plant genes, with minimal duplication. Further filtering resulted in a total of 15,664 transcripts, spanning approximately 31.4 Mb, which is less than 0.1% of the genome. These transcripts were found to exhibit tissue-specific expression, with 27.4% occurring exclusively in non-needle tissues. Functional annotation revealed that the transcriptome includes complementary contributions from various tissues, such as seed-desiccation and germination genes from megagametophytes, as well as defense- and stress-associated genes from roots and phloem. This multi-tissue approach not only provides a comprehensive view of the P. edulis transcriptome but also serves as a roadmap for future studies on other non-model plants with large genomes.",
  "summary": "Premise:: Conifers comprise one-sixth of global forests and landscape genomic studies are urgently needed to understand their biology, yet relatively few conifer species have reference genomes. Targeted exon-capture is a practical alternative to whole-genome sequencing, but selecting loci without a reference genome remains a barrier. We developed a multi-tissue reference transcriptome for pi non…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}