Draft genome of the elite North African date palm Deglet Nour
The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a key crop in the arid regions of North Africa and the Middle East, with substantial socioeconomic value. Although multiple genome assemblies have been generated using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies, they primarily focus on Middle Eastern cultivars, leaving North African varieties unrepresented. This study aims to address this gap by sequencing and assembling the first genome of a North African date palm. We present a draft genome assembly of the elite Tunisian variety Deglet Nour.