First chromosome-scale genome assemblies and comprehensive structural characterization of Tunisian durum wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum) landraces Chili and Mahmoudi

Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum) is a globally important crop for pasta and couscous production. Chili and Mahmoudi are historically significant Tunisian landraces valued for exceptional grain quality, high protein content, and adaptation to arid Mediterranean climates, yet no high-quality reference genome assemblies were available for either variety before this work. We assembled both genomes using publicly available PacBio HiFi long reads and Illumina Hi-C proximity ligation data (NCBI BioProject PRJNA1420514), with hifiasm v0.25.0 in primary mode and YAHS v1.2a.2 for Hi-C scaffolding. Assembly quality was assessed with QUAST v5.3.0 and BUSCO v5.8.0 (embryophyta_odb10 lineage).