Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a vital tropical root crop providing essential dietary energy to over 800 million people in tropical and subtropical regions. As a climate-resilient crop, its significance grows as the human population expands. However, yield improvement faces challenges from biotic and abiotic stress and limited breeding. Advanced sequencing and assembly techniques enabled the generation of a highly accurate, nearly complete, haplotype-resolved genome of the African cassava cultivar TMEB117. It is the most accurate cassava genome sequence to date with a base-level accuracy of QV > 64, N50 > 35 Mbp, and 98.9% BUSCO completeness. Over 60% of the genome comprises repetitive elements. We predicted over 45,000 gene models for both haplotypes. This achievement offers valuable insights into the heterozygosity genome organization of the cassava genome, with improved accuracy, completeness, and phased genomes. Due to its high susceptibility to African Cassava Mosaic Virus (ACMV) infections compared to other cassava varieties, TMEB117 provides an ideal reference for studying virus resistance mechanisms, including epigenetic variations and smallRNA expressions.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02800-0

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Michael Landihttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5597-7802

Trushar Shahhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0091-7981

ANDREAS GISELhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7218-9488

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02800-0

Biometrics; Biotech and Plant Breeding

Agronomy; Cassava; Food Security; Genetic Improvement; Plant Breeding; Plant Production

Cassava; Cultivars; African Cassava Mosaic Virus; Genomes

Africa; West Africa

Nigeria

Eastern Africa Hub; Headquarters and Western Africa Hub

Scientific Data