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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.04.02.587722

Chromosome-scale genome assembly the tropical abalone (Haliotis asinina)

Barkan, R.·Cooke, I. R.·Watson, S.-A.·Lau, S. C. Y.·Strugnell, J. M.
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Abstract

Abalone (family Haliotidae) are an ecologically and economically significant group of marine gastropods that can be found in tropical and temperate waters. To date, only a few Haliotis genomes are available, all belonging to temperate species. Here, we provide the first reference genome of the tropical abalone Haliotis asinina. The combination of PacBio long-read HiFi sequencing and Dovetails Omni-C sequencing allowed the chromosome-level assembly of this genome, while PacBio Isoform sequencing across five tissue types enabled the construction of high-quality gene models. This assembly resulted in 16 pseudo-chromosomes spanning over 1.12 Gb (98.1% of total scaffolds length), N50 of 67.09 Mb, the longest scaffold length of 105.96 Mb, and a BUSCO completeness score of 97.6%. This study identified 25,422 protein-coding genes and 61,149 transcripts. In an era of climate change and ocean warming, this genome of a heat-tolerant species can be used for comparative genomics with a focus on thermal resistance. This high-quality reference genome of H. asinina is a valuable resource for aquaculture, fisheries, and ecological studies.

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Barkan, R., Cooke, I. R., Watson, S.-A., Lau, S. C. Y., Strugnell, J. M.. 2024-04-03. Chromosome-scale genome assembly the tropical abalone (Haliotis asinina). https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.02.587722

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