High molecular weight genomic DNA extraction from horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus) leaves for long-read sequencing. v1

Horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus) has relatively few genomic resources available in the public domain. Extraction of high-molecular-weight (HMW) genomic DNA (gDNA) is essential for capturing complex, repeat-rich genomic regions to improve contiguity and enable structural variation detection through long-read sequencing. Commonly used DNA extraction methods, such as CTAB extraction, fail to produce high-quality horned melon DNA suitable for long-read sequencing. Here, we present a horned melon-specific HMW gDNA extraction protocol that may also prove useful for other recalcitrant cucurbits.