Chromosome-level genome assemblies of and provide insights into pericarp dehiscence and anthocyanin biosynthesis in banana.

and are members of the Musaceae family and are indigenous to the South and Southeast Asia. They are very popular in the horticultural market, but the lack of genomic sequencing data and genetic studies has hampered efforts to improve their ornamental value. In this study, we generated the first chromosome-level genome assemblies for both species by utilizing Oxford Nanopore long reads and Hi-C reads. The genomes of and were assembled into 11 pseudochromosomes with genome sizes of 427.85 Mb and 478.10 Mb, respectively. Repetitive sequences comprised 46.70% and 50.91% of the total genomes for and , respectively. Differentially expressed gene (DEG) and Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analyses indicated that upregulated genes in the mature pericarps of were mainly associated with the saccharide metabolic processes, particularly at the cell wall and extracellular region. Furthermore, we identified polygalacturonase (PG) genes that exhibited higher expression level in mature pericarps of compared to other tissues, potentially being accountable for pericarp dehiscence. This study also identified genes associated with anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway. Taken together, the chromosomal-level genome assemblies of and provide valuable insights into the mechanism of pericarp dehiscence and anthocyanin biosynthesis in banana, which will significantly contribute to future genetic and molecular breeding efforts.