ICAR's telomere-to-telomere pigeonpea genome approved as global reference
ICAR's complete telomere-to-telomere genome of pigeonpea variety 'Asha', India's first fully annotated T2T reference genome, has been approved as the global reference genome of the crop.
Summary
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) announced on 4 August 2026 that its telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome of pigeonpea (arhar/tur) variety 'Asha' has been approved as the global reference genome of the crop, making it India's first fully annotated T2T reference genome. The assembly of 752.65 million base pairs in 92 contigs covers all 11 chromosomes and identifies 36,557 genes; it has been deposited with NCBI. The work builds on ICAR–National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, New Delhi, which in 2011 published the world's first draft genome of a pulse crop, also the first crop genome sequenced entirely in India.
Key facts
- Crop
- Pigeonpea (arhar/tur), variety 'Asha'
- Milestone
- India's first fully annotated T2T reference genome
- Size
- 752.65 million bp, 92 contigs, all 11 chromosomes
- Genes
- 36,557
- Institute
- ICAR–NIPB, New Delhi
- Earlier
- 2011: world's first draft genome of a pulse crop
Practice MCQs 3 questions
ICAR's telomere-to-telomere reference genome announced in August 2026 belongs to which variety of pigeonpea?
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Correct answer: B — Asha
The T2T genome is of pigeonpea variety 'Asha', the same variety whose draft genome was published in 2011.
How many chromosomes of pigeonpea are fully represented in ICAR's T2T genome assembly?
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Correct answer: D — 11
The 752.65 million base-pair assembly gives a complete representation of all 11 chromosomes of pigeonpea.
Consider the following statements: 1. In 2011, ICAR–National Institute for Plant Biotechnology published the world's first draft genome of a pulse crop. 2. ICAR's T2T pigeonpea genome identifies 36,557 genes. Which of the above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: C — Both 1 and 2
Both are correct: the 2011 pigeonpea draft was the world's first pulse-crop genome, and the T2T annotation identified 36,557 genes.