Whole genome resequencing of the globe artichoke Italian ecotype ‘Asti Sorì’

This work was carried out as part of the "VALORIZZAZIONE RIGENERA" Project, funded by the Piedmont Region (PSR 2014-2024 – Operation 10.2.1) and focused on characterizing and valorizing horticultural crop ecotypes cultivated in Piedmont, Northwest Italy. This is achieved by assessing their production potential in various cultivation environments and by creating "identity cards" containing sensory profiles. These profiles, along with other information, are provided to consumers with the goal of increasing their knowledge and promoting the dissemination of these ecotypes. One of the local ecotypes studied is the "Carciofo Astigiano del Sorì" ("Asti Sorì” globe artichoke, Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L.) which gets its name from the specific conditions in which it is cultivated. "Sorì" is a Piedmontese term referring to the sunny side of a hill (southeast-, south-, or southwest-facing slope), which is not only ideal for vineyards but also for growing typical Mediterranean plants like artichokes. This particular ecotype is cultivated in the hills of Asti, between the Tiglione, Belbo, and Tanaro rivers, and is also known as the "Carciofo della Val Tiglione." It is recognized as a presidium by the "Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity" an organization that coordinates projects worldwide to protect food biodiversity. With the aim to accelerate the valorization and breeding of this ecotype, we performed an Illumina re-sequencing of two "Asti Sorì" genotypes achieving coverage up to 35x. We reconstructed their genome sequences at a chromosomal scale, conducted structural and functional annotations, and compared them to previously available sequences from genotypes representing core varietal types such as 'Violetto di Sicilia,' 'Violetto di Toscana,' 'Romanesco C3,' 'Spinoso di Palermo,' and a genotype of the related taxa cultivated cardoon.This work contributes to increasing the existing genomic resources (http://www.artichokegenome.unito.it) for this important horticultural crop, and sets the background for the protection the Piedmont ecotypee 'Asti Sori'.