南极海蛇鱼物种Lycenchelys nigripalatum的染色体级别基因组组装研究

Abstract

Eelpouts (family Zoarcidae) serve as an ideal model for investigating adaptive radiation in polar fishes and the parallel evolution of functional genes. However, collection of Antarctic specimens remains highly constrained by logistical difficulties. Here, we present a high-quality, chromosome-level genome assembly for Lycenchelys nigripalatum , reconstructed by combining Illumina short reads, PacBio high-fidelity (HiFi) long reads, and Hi-C chromatin interaction data. The final assembly spans 700.14 Mb with a scaffold N50 of 28.04 Mb, successfully anchored onto 24 pseudo-chromosomes. Technical validation demonstrated exceptional genome integrity and accuracy, yielding a Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO) completeness score of 99.31% and a base-level quality value (QV) of 62.44. Genome annotation identified 18,956 protein-coding genes and revealed that transposable elements comprise 22.79% of the genome. This high-resolution genome provides a foundation for elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying polar adaptation and environmental transitions in Antarctic eelpouts.