In this study we used long reads data and optical mapping in order to deliver an enhanced quality reference genome of pearl millet and long range informative optical maps to detect and validate structural variants in African population.

Recent studies have highlighted the importance of structural variants such as inversions in evolution and adaptation of species. A high quality reference genome is however required to detect and study such variants. In this study we used long reads and optical mapping data in order to enhance the quality of the pearl millet reference genome and to identify and validate structural variants in pearl millet African population. The fasta file obtained with the accession number GCA_947561735.1 contains the 7 chromosomes of the pearl millet genome (~1.78Gb). The unplaced sequences of the assembly can found with the accession number CAOJCL010000000.1 (1,178 sequences representing ~70Mb).