Gap-free genome assembly and CYP450 gene family analysis reveal the biosynthesis of anthocyanins in Scutellaria baicalensis

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, a member of the Lamiaceae family, is a widely utilized medicinal plant. The flavones extracted from S. baicalensis contribute to numerous health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anti-tumor activities. However, the incomplete genome assembly hinders biological studies on S. baicalensis. This study presents the first telomere-to-telomere (T2T) gap-free genome assembly of S. baicalensis through the integration of Pacbio HiFi, Nanopore ultra-long and Hi-C technologies. A total of 384.59 Mb of genome size with a contig N50 of 42.44 Mb was obtained, and all sequences were anchored into nine pseudochromosomes without any gap or mismatch. In addition, we analysed the major cyanidin- and delphinidin-based anthocyanins involved in the determination of blue-purple flower using a widely-targeted metabolome approach. Based on the genome-wide identification of Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) gene family, three genes (SbFBH1, 2, and 5) encoding flavonoid 3 '-hydroxylases (F3 ' Hs) and one gene (SbFBH7) encoding flavonoid 3 ' 5 '-hydroxylase (F3 ' 5 ' H) were found to hydroxylate the B-ring of flavonoids. Our studies enrich the genomic information available for the Lamiaceae family and provide a toolkit for discovering CYP450 genes involved in the flavonoid decoration.