Integrative Biology Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Jiangsu, China.
Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Jiangsu, China.
Genome Biol Evol. 2021 Aug 3;13(8). doi: 10.1093/gbe/evab162.
There are more than 100 species of American didelphid marsupials (opossums and mouse opossums). Limited genomic resources for didelphids exists, with only two publicly available genome assemblies compared with dozens in the case of their Australasian counterparts. This discrepancy impedes evolutionary and ecological research. To address this gap, we assembled a high-quality chromosome-level genome of the agile gracile mouse opossum (Gracilinanus agilis) using a combination of stLFR sequencing, polishing with mate-pair data, and anchoring onto pseudochromosomes using Hi-C. This species employs a rare life-history strategy, semelparity, and all G. agilis males and most females die at the end of their first breeding season after succumbing to stress and exhaustion. The 3.7-Gb chromosome-level assembly, with 92.6% anchored onto pseudochromosomes, has a scaffold N50 of 683.5 Mb and a contig N50 of 56.9 kb. The genome assembly shows high completeness, with a mammalian BUSCO score of 88.1%. Around 49.7% of the genome contains repetitive elements. Gene annotation yielded 24,425 genes, of which 83.9% were functionally annotated. The G. agilis genome is an important resource for future studies of marsupial biology, evolution, and conservation.
有超过 100 种美洲袋貂目有袋动物（负鼠和袋鼩）。与澳大拉西亚有袋动物的数十个基因组组装相比，袋貂目的基因组资源有限，仅有两个公开的基因组组装。这种差异阻碍了进化和生态研究。为了解决这个差距，我们使用 stLFR 测序、使用 mate-pair 数据进行抛光以及使用 Hi-C 将其锚定到假染色体上的组合，组装了敏捷细足袋鼩（Gracilinanus agilis）的高质量染色体水平基因组。这种物种采用了一种罕见的生活史策略，即单态性，所有 G. agilis 雄性和大多数雌性在第一个繁殖季节结束时都会因压力和疲惫而死亡。37 亿碱基对的染色体水平组装，有 92.6%锚定到假染色体上，支架 N50 为 683.5 Mb，重叠群 N50 为 56.9 kb。基因组组装显示出高度的完整性，哺乳动物 BUSCO 评分为 88.1%。大约 49.7%的基因组包含重复元件。基因注释产生了 24425 个基因，其中 83.9%具有功能注释。G. agilis 基因组是未来对有袋动物生物学、进化和保护进行研究的重要资源。
