An interesting example of long-read sequencing. Waiting for this to be ​ regularly applied in human genome se ​q​ uenc ​ing . ​====================================== Single-molecule sequencing of the desiccation-tolerant grass Oropetium thomaeum. ​Open Source: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature15714.html​ Robert VanBuren, Doug Bryant, Patrick P. Edger, Haibao Tang, Diane Burgess, Dinakar Challabathula, Kristi Spittle, Richard Hall, Jenny Gu, Eric Lyons, Michael Freeling, Dorothea Bartels, Boudewijn Ten Hallers, Alex Hastie, Todd P. Michael & Todd C. Mockler Nature (2015) doi:10.1038/nature15714 ​ ​ Received 28 April 2015 Accepted 10 September 2015 Published online 11 November 2015 Plant genomes, and eukaryotic genomes in general, are typically repetitive, polyploid and heterozygous, which complicates genome assembly1. The short read lengths of early Sanger and current next-generation sequencing platforms hinder assembly through complex repeat regions, and many draft and reference genomes are fragmented, lacking skewed GC and repetitive intergenic sequences, which are gaining importance due to projects like the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE)2. Here we report the whole-genome sequencing and assembly of the desiccation-tolerant grass Oropetium thomaeum. *Using only single-molecule real-time sequencing, which generates long (>16 kilobases) reads with random errors, we assembled 99% (244 megabases) of theOropetium genome into 625 contigs with an N50 length of 2.4 megabases*. Oropetium is an example of a ‘near-complete’ draft genome which includes gapless coverage over gene space as well as intergenic sequences such as centromeres, telomeres, transposable elements and rRNA clusters that are typically unassembled in draft genomes. Oropetium ​ ​ has 28,466 protein-coding genes and 43% repeat sequences, yet with 30% more compact euchromatic regions it is the smallest known grass genome. The Oropetium genome demonstrates the utility of single-molecule real-time sequencing for assembling high-quality plant and other eukaryotic genomes, and serves as a valuable resource for the plant comparative genomics community. ​[Line breaks and bolding added by SCP]​ -- Steven C. Perkins SCPerkins@gmail.com http://stevencperkins.com/ Indigenous Peoples' Rights http://intelligent-internet.info/law/ipr2.html Indigenous & Ethnic Minority Legal News http://iemlnews.blogspot.com/ Online Journal of Genetics and Genealogy http://jgg-online.blogspot.com/ S.C. Perkins' Genealogy Page http://stevencperkins.com/genealogy.html S.C. Perkins' Genealogy Blog http://scpgen.blogspot.com/