Synteny Enabled Upgrade of the Galapagos Giant Tortoise Genome Improves Inferences of Runs of Homozygosity.

ABSTRACT: The utility and importance of whole-genome sequences are recognized across various fields, including evolution and conservation. However, for some taxa, like extinct species, using methods to generate contiguous genomes that rely on high-quality DNA is impossible. In such cases, an alternative may be to employ synteny-based methods using a genome from a closely related taxon to generate more complete genomes. Here we update the reference genome for the Pinta Island Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis abingdonii) without conducting additional sequencing through rescaffolding against the most closely related chromosome-level genome assembly, the Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea). This effort resulted in a much more contiguous genome, CheloAbing_2.0, with an N50

SUBMITTER: Jensen EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12032190 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature