Species:	Vernicia fordii
Genus:	Vernicia
Family:	Euphorbiaceae
Taxonomy ID:	73154
Common Name:	tung-oil; tungoil tree; kalo nut tree; China wood-oil tree.

      The tungoil tree (Vernicia fordii), a deciduous tree of the family Euphorbiaceae, is native to China and widely distributed in subtropical regions. As one of the four major woody oil trees in China, tungoil tree has the advantages of high photosynthetic efficiency, rapid growth to flowering and fruiting in three years, and high oil yield, and has been shown to have potential for biodiesel production [1-2]. About 80% of the fatty acid composition of tung oil is α-tung oil acid (α-ESA) [3], which makes tung oil one of the highest quality dry vegetable oils with properties such as fast drying, glossy, insulating, acid and alkali resistance, and resistance to heat and cold, due to which tung oil has great potential for the manufacture of green coatings, plasticizers, and chemical reagents. In addition, tungoil tree also has high medicinal value and its roots, shoots, leaves, flowers and fruits, in addition to the seeds, can fight viruses and various diseases such as skin diseases and constipation [4].
      In 2014, the genome project of tungoil tree was initiated jointly by Central South University of Forestry and Technology and the high-quality chromosome-scale genome of Vernicia fordii cv. Putaotong was obtained in 2020 by using second and third generation sequencing combined with Hi-C technology [5]. During this period, the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences released a scaffold-level genome of tung tree in 2018 [6]

Specie type	Genome size	Assembly level	Scaffold N50	CG content	Browse	Data Source(PMID)
Vernicia fordii	1.2Gb	Scaffold	474.93kb	34.03%		30137600

[1] Tan, X. F., Jiang, G. X., Tan, F. Y., Zhou, W., & Lu, P. (2011). Research report on industrialization development strategy of Vernicia fordii in China. Nonwood Forest Research, 29, 1-7.
[2] Chen, Y. H., Chen, J. H., Chang, C. Y., & Chang, C. C. (2010). Biodiesel production from tung (Vernicia montana) oil and its blending properties in different fatty acid compositions. Bioresource Technology, 101(24), 9521-9526.
[3] Zhang, L., Liu, M., Long, H., Dong, W., Pasha, A., Esteban, E., ... & Tan, X. (2019). Tung tree (Vernicia fordii) genome provides a resource for understanding genome evolution and improved oil production. Genomics, proteomics & bioinformatics, 17(6), 558-575.
[4] Fang, J.X.; He, F. China Tung Oil Tree; Forestry Publishing Press: Beijing, China, 1998.
[5] Zhang, L., Liu, M., Long, H., Dong, W., Pasha, A., Esteban, E., ... & Tan, X. (2019). Tung tree (Vernicia fordii) genome provides a resource for understanding genome evolution and improved oil production. Genomics, proteomics & bioinformatics, 17(6), 558-575.
[6] Cui, P., Lin, Q., Fang, D., Zhang, L., Li, R., Cheng, J., ... & Lü, S. (2018). Tung tree (Vernicia fordii, Hemsl.) genome and transcriptome sequencing reveals co-ordinate up-regulation of fatty acid β-oxidation and triacylglycerol biosynthesis pathways during eleostearic acid accumulation in seeds. Plant and Cell Physiology, 59(10), 1990-2003.