March 5, 2025 | Scientific Data |
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China, conducted a genomic study on durian (Durio zibethinus), a tropical fruit of nutritional and economic importance. The study focused on the durian cultivar ‘Kan Yao’ and aimed to provide genomic resources to support molecular breeding and genetic improvement.
The researchers successfully generated two high-quality, haplotype-resolved, chromosome-level genome assemblies for ‘Kan Yao’, each comprising 28 chromosomes. The assembled genome sizes were 737.2 Mb and 763.8 Mb, with contig N50 values of 22.9 Mb and 21.5 Mb, and scaffold N50 values of 25.9 Mb and 26.7 Mb, respectively. Of the 28 chromosomes, 19 were assembled without gaps, while the remaining 9 contained between 1 and 10 gaps.
Genome annotation identified 53,125 and 53,101 functional genes, along with 5,254 and 5,496 non-coding RNAs in the two haplotypes. These high-quality reference genomes represent an important advancement in durian research, offering a detailed genetic foundation for future studies on gene function, trait association, and cultivar development. The data are expected to facilitate molecular breeding strategies aimed at improving fruit quality, disease resistance, and stress tolerance in durian cultivation.
