ICAR's Genome Breakthrough Paves Way for Better Pigeonpea Varieties

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has released India’s first fully annotated telomere‑to‑telomere (T2T) reference genome for pigeonpea (variety ‘Asha’). The 752.65 million‑base‑pair assembly (92 contigs) covers all 11 chromosomes, includes 36,557 genes and 48,008 mRNAs, and is deposited in NCBI (accession GCF_000230855.1, released 20 April 2026). The genome is intended to serve as a national resource for gene discovery, pangenome analysis and the application of molecular breeding and genome‑editing to develop climate‑resilient, high‑yielding, nutritionally enriched pigeonpea varieties, aligning with the Government’s ‘Aatmanirbharta in Pulses’ mission (2025‑31).