Building a reference transcriptome for the hexaploid hard fescue turfgrass (Festuca brevipila) using a combination of pacbio iso‐seq and illumina sequencing

Hard fescue (Festuca brevipila Tracey, 2n=6x=42) is a cool-season turfgrass with a fine leaf texture that performs well under low-input management. Breeding and genetics studies of F. brevipilahave been limited due to the complexity of its hexaploid genome. To advance our knowledge of F. brevipila genomics, we used PacBio isoform sequencing to develop a reference transcriptome for this species. Here, we report the F. brevipila reference transcriptome generated from root, crown, leaf, and seed head tissues. We obtained 59,510 full-length transcripts, of which 38,595 were non-redundant full-length transcripts. The longest and shortest transcripts were 11,487 and 58 bp, respectively. To test the polyploid origin of F. brevipila, we sequenced three additional transcriptomes using closely related species on an Illumina platform. The results of our phylotranscriptomic analysis supported the allopolyploid origin of F. brevipila. Overall, the F. brevipila Pacbio Isoseq reference transcriptome provided the foundation for transcriptome studies and allowed breeders for gene discovery in this important turfgrass species.