Genome Assembly of the Green Revolution Wheat Cultivar Pavon 76 Establishes a Reference for CIMMYT-Derived Wheat

Eurmsirilerd, E.; Resendiz, M.; Lana, G.; Li, Q.; Nawmi, F.; Chang, R.; Zhang, W.; Wu, T. X.; Sun, Z.; Wang, L.; Lonardi, S.; Melonek, J.; Chater, J. M.; Jia, Z.

doi:10.64898/2026.06.04.730269

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.06.04.730269

Genome Assembly of the Green Revolution Wheat Cultivar Pavon 76 Establishes a Reference for CIMMYT-Derived Wheat

Eurmsirilerd, E.·Resendiz, M.·Lana, G.·Li, Q.·Nawmi, F.·Chang, R.·Zhang, W.·Wu, T. X.·Sun, Z.·Wang, L.·Lonardi, S.·Melonek, J.·Chater, J. M.·Jia, Z.

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a cornerstone of global food security. However, the standard reference genome, IWGSC RefSeq v2.1, is derived from wheat cultivar Chinese Spring, a historically important lineage that is not representative of modern cultivated wheat. In contrast, Pavon 76 is a CIMMYT Green Revolution wheat cultivar grown worldwide and is present in the pedigrees of numerous elite wheats, as well as in the genetic background of over 600 cytogenetic stocks used in studies ranging from recombination to male sterility. As no Pavon 76 reference has been reported, interpretation of these Pavon 76-derived stocks has relied on the genetically distant IWGSC RefSeq v2.1. To address this gap, we generated PacBio HiFi reads and Hi-C read pairs to assemble Pavon 76s genome. The final assembly comprises the expected 21 chromosomes, spans 15 Gb, and has an N50 of 710 Mb. Annotation identified 167,201 genes, of which 89.5% were functionally annotated. Comparative sequence and gene synteny analysis between Pavon 76 and IWGSC RefSeq v2.1 revealed significant structural divergence, establishing that IWGSC RefSeq v2.1 is not fully representative of modern wheats. This robust Pavon 76 assembly establishes the first chromosome-scale de novo assembly of a CIMMYT-derived wheat and provides a foundation for future genetic and genomic studies.

Explore related subjects

genomics Preprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Eurmsirilerd, E., Resendiz, M., Lana, G., Li, Q., Nawmi, F., Chang, R., Zhang, W., Wu, T. X., Sun, Z., Wang, L., Lonardi, S., Melonek, J., Chater, J. M., Jia, Z.. 2026-06-05. Genome Assembly of the Green Revolution Wheat Cultivar Pavon 76 Establishes a Reference for CIMMYT-Derived Wheat. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.06.04.730269

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Integrative Nanopore and Illumina sequencing reveals age-associated tRNA modification and CCA-tail dynamics in yeast

Aging is characterized by a progressive loss of proteostasis. Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are essential regulators of translation, yet their dynamics during aging remain poorly understood due to challenges in sequencing highly modified RNAs. Here we present a benchmarked Nanopore direct RNA sequencing (RNA004 chemistry) resource that profiles the Saccharomyces cerevisiae tRNAome during replicative aging at single-molecule resolution. Using in vitro transcribed tRNA controls, we establish modification detection thresholds and validate key findings with orthogonal Illumina sequencing. While overall tRNA abundance remains largely stable, our resource reveals age-associated terminal A cleavage at the 3' CCA tail of mature tRNAs, targeted T-loop and anticodon modification changes, and single-molecule evidence of modification co-occurrence. This dataset provides a resource for exploring tRNA regulation, translation fidelity, and longevity.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2026

A hydrogen-producing mitochondrion in an anaerobic eukaryotrophic rhizarian

Diverse eukaryotes thrive under low oxygen conditions, in part through highly modified mitochondrion-related organelles (MROs) that use alternate metabolic pathways to support ATP production and cofactor recycling. Anaerobic lifestyles have evolved repeatedly across the eukaryotic tree of life, each providing an independent opportunity to understand how eukaryotes adapt to life in low oxygen conditions. Here, we use single-cell transcriptomics to reconstruct the MRO metabolism of PCE SSF, a benthic eukaryotrophic flagellate and the first cultivated representative of Novel Clade 12 (NC12; Rhizaria), an independently anaerobic rhizarian lineage. PCE SSF possesses an anaerobic hydrogen-producing mitochondrion capable of hydrogenosome-type substrate-level phosphorylation. It also retains a nearly complete but likely branched tricarboxylic acid pathway that lacks citrate synthase and malate dehydrogenase. The function of citrate synthase may instead be fulfilled by the typically cytosolic ATP citrate lyase, previously reported in this context only in the anaerobic cercozoan, Brevimastigomonas motovehiculus. Unlike B. motovehiculus, however, PCE SSF retains only Complex II and the NuoE/NuoF subunits of the electron transport chain and lacks a mitochondrial genome. Together, these features indicate an atypical and reduced mitochondrial metabolism, highlighting the diversity of evolutionary solutions to anaerobic energy metabolism in eukaryotes.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2026

Targeted CRISPRi screening reveals unexpected resilience across the RNA polymerase III transcriptome

Increased RNA polymerase III (Pol III) activity and tRNA abundance are widely linked to cancer cell growth, yet the functional requirement for individual Pol III genes and core components remains unclear, in part due to the difficulty of achieving gene-specific perturbation of highly conserved loci. Here, we developed an inducible CRISPR interference platform and a custom single-guide RNA (sgRNA) library enabling gene-specific targeting of Pol III-transcribed genes and Pol III machinery. Genome-wide screening identified several Pol III dependencies in diploid fibroblasts and HEK293T cells, including multiple initiator methionine tRNA genes among the strongest fitness dependencies. Unexpectedly, glioblastoma models remained largely insensitive to repression of both individual Pol III genes and core Pol III components, despite efficient target repression. These findings establish a general strategy for gene-specific interrogation of conserved Pol III genes and indicate that glioblastoma models tolerate extensive perturbation of Pol III genes and machinery.

genomics↗