A chromosome-length reference genome for the common side-blotched lizard Uta stansburiana and gene expression data reveals fast pace-of-life comes with environmental stability
Uta stansburiana are an emerging model system for testing hypotheses regarding the evolution of pace-of-life syndromes (POLS) across its variable environments and wide latitudinal gradient. POLS are suites of traits related to variation of life history along a slow maturing-fast maturing continuum. We present a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome for U. stansburiana and use RNA-seq gene expression data to test for molecular correlates for pace-of-life differences between locations with higher and lower climate seasonality, UV differences, and sexual size dimorphism (SSD). Our assembly is 2.1 Gbp, has scaffold N50 of 320 Mbp, includes 104 scaffolds, and has an L50 of 3. The assembly comprises six macrochromosomes and 11 microchromosomes. We annotated 20,350 genes for the assembly and found a repeat element composition of 49.23%, similar to work in other phrynosomatid lizards. RNA-seq data reveal differential expression in genes consistent with pace-of-life differences and physiological variation including those related to stress, sexual reproduction, and cell proliferation/carcinogenesis between distinctive environments. Our results provide genes potentially underlying the molecular bases of POLS differences in a wild lizard.