Chromosome-level genome assembly of the northern Pacific seastar Asterias amurensis

Abstract

Asterias amurensis has attracted widespread concern because of its population outbreaks, which has impacted fisheries and aquaculture, as well as disrupting local ecosystems. A high-quality reference genome is necessary to better investigate mechanisms of outbreak and adaptive changes. Combining PacBio HiFi and Hi-C sequencing data, we generated a chromosome-level A. amurensis genome with a size of 491.53 Mb. The contig N50 and scaffold N50 were 8.05 and 23.75 Mb, respectively. The result of BUSCO analysis revealed a completeness score of 98.85%. A total of 16,531 protein-coding genes were predicted in the genome, of which 94.63% were functionally annotated. The high-quality genome assembly resulting from this study will provide a valuable genetic resource for future research on the mechanism of population outbreaks and invasion ecology.