Chromosome-level Genome Assembly of the High-altitude Leopard (Panthera pardus) Sheds Light on Its Environmental Adaptation.

ABSTRACT: The leopard (Panthera pardus) has the largest natural distribution from low- to high-altitude areas of any wild felid species, but recent studies have revealed that leopards have disappeared from large areas, probably owing to poaching, a decline of prey species, and habitat degradation. Here, we reported the chromosome-scale genome assembly of the high-altitude leopard (HL) based on nanopore sequencing and high-throughput chromatin conformation capture (Hi-C) technology. Panthera genomes revealed similar repeat composition, and there was an appreciably conserved synteny between HL and the other two Panthera genomes. Divergence time analysis based on the whole genomes revealed that the HL and the low-altitude leopard differentiate from a common ancestor ∼2.2 Ma. Through comparative genomic

SUBMITTER: Zhou C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9452791 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature