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– Foundational genomic resources for date palm Phoenix dactylifera: A gap-free, telomere-to-telomere phased assembly of Ajwa and 19 high-quality genome assemblies
– Paper published in Springer Nature’s Scientific Data on 31 August 2026.
– Earlier version of the paper deposited on bioRxiv, December 31, 2025.
– Mirko Celii, Noor Al-Bader, Nahed Mohammed, Yong Zhou, Alice Fornasiero, Maria Navarrete Rodriguez, Raghad Shuwaikan, Umair Ali Toor, Victor Llaca, Kevin Fengler, Praveena Parakkal, Dal-Hoe Koo, Muriel Gros-Balthazard, Vincent Battesti, Thiago Capote, Michael Purugganan, Joel A. Malek, Ikram Blilou, Jesse Poland, and Rod A. Wing.
– DOI: 10.1038/s41597-026-08193-0
– Online: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-...
– PDF on HAL: https://hal.science/hal-05440322
– Abstract
Phoenix dactylifera L. is an economically, nutritionally, and culturally important fruit crop in the arid and semi-arid regions of the Middle East and North Africa. Here, we present a gap-free, telomere-to-telomere reference genome of the variety Ajwa, along with 19 additional high-quality assemblies (18 female [including the barnī of al-ʿUlā] and 1 male). These assemblies reveal updated, corrected chromosome assemblies validated through cytogenetics, Hi-C and optical mapping. Chromosome numbering was revised based on average lengths across all sequenced genomes. The Sex Determination Region (SDR) was inferred on chromosome 14, spanning approximately 15.2 Mb. Nucleolar organizing regions (NORs) were localized on chromosome 10, where a large 45S rDNA locus displayed unique repeat spacer motifs containing transposon-like sequences. In some accessions, a second NOR was identified on the female sex chromosome. This collection of date palm assemblies, anchored by the Ajwa reference genome, provides a fundamental resource for advancing breeding strategies aimed at enhancing the genetic resilience and productivity of date palm.
– Work carried out within the framework of the al-ʿUlā DPA project. ❎.