Chromosome-level genome assembly of tea cultivar Fuding Dahao

Abstract

Tea ( Camellia sinensis ) is a globally important economic crop. Among elite cultivars, ‘Fuding Dahao’ is particularly prized for its superior agronomic traits and its central role in premium white tea production. However, the lack of a high-quality chromosome-level genome for this regionally adapted cultivar has hindered molecular breeding efforts. Here, we present the first chromosome-level reference genome of ‘Fuding Dahao’ assembled using PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing and Hi-C chromatin interaction mapping. The final 3.30 Gb assembly is highly contiguous, with 90% of the sequences anchored to 15 pseudochromosomes. A total of 54,345 protein-coding genes were predicted, representing a substantial improvement in both assembly contiguity and annotation completeness compared with previously published tea genomes. This high quality genome provides a critical resource for dissecting the genetic basis of white tea quality traits and accelerating molecular breeding programs. Our results fill a major gap in tea genomics and lay a solid foundation for the development of superior, locally adapted tea cultivars.