UC Berkeley

Triticum turgidum cv Kronos is a tetraploid wheat cultivar that underpins one of the most widely used community platforms for functional genomics. Over the past decade, researchers have generated c. 3000 exome-capture (EC) and promoter-capture (PC) datasets linked to mutagenized seed stocks, along with extensive transcriptomic and phenotypic resources. However, the absence of a reference genome has constrained their full utility. We assembled a chromosome-scale reference genome for Kronos, with high-confidence annotations, including manual curation of over 1000 disease resistance (nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR)) genes and genome-wide identification of microRNAs and phasiRNAs. We additionally reanalyzed EC and PC data to capture mutational landscapes across ethyl methane sulphonate-mutagenized Kronos populations. We revealed previously hidden NLR diversity and resolved their genomic organization at chromosomal ends. Re-analysis of capture datasets enabled high-resolution mutation discovery in genes and regulatory regions, providing a more comprehensive view of the variations detectable in the Kronos mutant populations. Collectively, these resources provide a reference-quality genomic framework for Kronos and position it as a versatile platform for functional and translational wheat research.