A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Malus domestica, a multi-stress resistant apple variety

Hanfu apple is the main cultivar grown in the cool areas of Northeast, Northwest, and North China. Here, we proposed a chromosome-level Hanfu genome assembly using PacBio, Illumina and Hi-C sequencing data. The total contig length was 628.99 Mb, with scaffold and contig N50 sizes of 36.18 Mb and 1.25 Mb, respectively. The Hanfu genome had a total of 39,617 genes, of which we predicted the function for 38,816. Evolutionary analysis showed that Hanfu may have undergone a γ-event, a recent whole-genome duplication. A comparative analysis was conducted on the genomes of Hanfu and homozygous triploid HFTH1, which were cultured using the anthers of diploid Hanfu apples. Three variants were identified, including 2,155,184 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 413,108 insertions/deletions (indels), and 7,587 structural variants (SVs).This high-quality genome will provide a reference for the genetic improvement of apples and the breeding of more varieties with high resistance and high quality.