Nature Communications

Extensive variation between chromosomes of North American and European hop

S Sandip Mallikarjun Kale H Heidrun Gundlach O Oliver Gericke N Nadia Kamal A Aldo Almeida N Nicholi Pitra N Nicholas Price G Georg Haberer T Thomas Lux F Flavia Krsticevic O Oliver Kemp L Louise de Bang A Axel Himmelbach S Sudharsan Padmarasu M Mark-Timothy Rabanus-Wallace L Lucie Horáková V Václav Bačovský K Kasper Nielsen N Nanna Bjarnholt N Nikola Micic I Isabella Kruse-Andersen B Birger Lindberg Møller C Christian Janfelt B Birgitte Skadhauge P Paul D. Matthews K Klaus F. X. Mayer N Nils Stein M Martin Mascher M Manuel Spannagl A Alexander Feiner I Ilka Braumann

Abstract

Abstract Hop is an essential ingredient in brewing, providing beer with its characteristic bitterness and aroma. Most modern hop cultivars are hybrids between European and North American hop lineages, but how these ancestries contribute to bitter acid content, the most important trait in hop breeding, remains unclear. Here, we report chromosome-scale, haplotype-resolved assemblies of the hybrid hop cultivar Apollo, assign European and North American ancestry across the genome, and identify varying levels of recombination suppression between chromosomes of either origin. Using this reference, we uncover genetic and chemical diversity in core bittering pathways between European and North American hops. We further show additive effects of beneficial European and North American alleles on bitter acid content, providing a foundation for genomics-assisted hop breeding.

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Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 17, Issue 1
Published May 27, 2026
ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher Nature Portfolio

Journal Info

Nature Communications

Nature Portfolio
ISSN: 2041-1723 Open Access Life Sciences

Authors (31)

S

Sandip Mallikarjun Kale

H

Heidrun Gundlach

O

Oliver Gericke

N

Nadia Kamal

A

Aldo Almeida

N

Nicholi Pitra

N

Nicholas Price

G

Georg Haberer

T

Thomas Lux

F

Flavia Krsticevic

O

Oliver Kemp

L

Louise de Bang

A

Axel Himmelbach

S

Sudharsan Padmarasu

M

Mark-Timothy Rabanus-Wallace

L

Lucie Horáková

V

Václav Bačovský

K

Kasper Nielsen

N

Nanna Bjarnholt

N

Nikola Micic

I

Isabella Kruse-Andersen

B

Birger Lindberg Møller

C

Christian Janfelt

B

Birgitte Skadhauge

P

Paul D. Matthews

K

Klaus F. X. Mayer

N

Nils Stein

M

Martin Mascher

M

Manuel Spannagl

A

Alexander Feiner

I

Ilka Braumann

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