Hebei Key Laboratory of Specialty Animal Germplasm Resources Exploration and Innovation (Under Planning), College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, Qinhuangdao, China.
Novogene Bioinformatics Institute, Beijing, China.
Mol Ecol Resour. 2021 Aug;21(6):2093-2108. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.13397. Epub 2021 Apr 21.
The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is the only fox species occurring in the Arctic and has adapted to its extreme climatic conditions. Currently, the molecular basis of its adaptation to the extreme climate has not been characterized. Here, we applied PacBio sequencing and chromosome structure capture technique to assemble the first V. lagopus genome assembly, which is assembled into chromosome fragments. The genome assembly has a total length of 2.345 Gb with a contig N50 of 31.848 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 131.537 Mb, consisting of 25 pseudochromosomal scaffolds. The V. lagopus genome had approximately 32.33% repeat sequences. In total, 21,278 protein-coding genes were predicted, of which 99.14% were functionally annotated. Compared with 12 other mammals, V. lagopus was most closely related to V. Vulpes with an estimated divergence time of ~7.1 Ma. The expanded gene families and positively selected genes potentially play roles in the adaptation of V. lagopus to Arctic extreme environment. This high-quality assembled genome will not only promote future studies of genetic diversity and evolution in foxes and other canids but also provide important resources for conservation of Arctic species.
北极狐（Vulpes lagopus）是唯一一种生活在北极的狐狸，已经适应了其极端的气候条件。目前，其适应极端气候的分子基础尚未得到阐明。在这里，我们应用 PacBio 测序和染色体结构捕获技术来组装第一个北极狐基因组组装，该组装被组装成染色体片段。基因组组装的总长度为 23.45 亿碱基对，具有 31.848Mb 的 contig N50 和 131.537Mb 的 scaffold N50，由 25 个假染色体支架组成。北极狐基因组大约有 32.33%的重复序列。总共预测到 21278 个蛋白质编码基因，其中 99.14%具有功能注释。与其他 12 种哺乳动物相比，北极狐与 V. Vulpes 最为密切相关，估计分化时间约为 7.1Ma。基因家族的扩张和正选择基因可能在北极狐适应北极极端环境中发挥作用。这个高质量的组装基因组不仅将促进未来对狐狸和其他犬科动物遗传多样性和进化的研究，还将为保护北极物种提供重要资源。
