Draft Genome Assembly of the Elite Tunisian Date Palm Cultivar Deglet Nour

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a key crop in the arid regions of North Africa and the Middle East, with substantial socioeconomic value. Although multiple genome assemblies have been generated using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies, they primarily focus on Middle Eastern cultivars, leaving North African varieties un-represented. This study aims to address this gap by sequencing and assembling the first genome of a North African date palm using Illumina sequencing technology. We present a draft genome assembly of the elite Tunisian variety Deglet Nour. By comparing it with the Barhee BC4 reference genome, we identified key genetic variants, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions/deletions (INDELs), potentially associ-ated with ripening processes and fruit quality. This work expands the genomic resources for date palm research, particularly for North African cultivars, and provides new insights into the nucleotide-level variability of genes linked to key agronomic traits.海枣（Phoenix dactylifera L.）是北非与中东干旱地区的关键作物，具备可观的社会经济价值。尽管学界已借助下一代测序（Next Generation Sequencing, NGS）技术获得多份海枣基因组组装结果，但这些组装主要针对中东栽培品种，北非品种尚未被纳入研究范畴。本研究旨在填补这一空白：采用Illumina测序技术，完成首例北非海枣的基因组测序与组装，报道突尼斯优良品种Deglet Nour的基因组草图组装结果。通过与Barhee BC4参考基因组进行比对，我们鉴定出与成熟过程及果实品质潜在相关的关键遗传变异，包括单核苷酸多态性（SNPs）与插入/缺失变异（INDELs）。本研究扩充了海枣研究的基因组资源库，尤其针对北非栽培品种，并为解析与重要农艺性状相关基因的核苷酸水平变异提供了新视角。