Scientific Data (Feb 2024)

Chromosome level genome assembly of the Etruscan shrew Suncus etruscus

  • Yury V. Bukhman,
  • Susanne Meyer,
  • Li-Fang Chu,
  • Linelle Abueg,
  • Jessica Antosiewicz-Bourget,
  • Jennifer Balacco,
  • Michael Brecht,
  • Erica Dinatale,
  • Olivier Fedrigo,
  • Giulio Formenti,
  • Arkarachai Fungtammasan,
  • Swagarika Jaharlal Giri,
  • Michael Hiller,
  • Kerstin Howe,
  • Daisuke Kihara,
  • Daniel Mamott,
  • Jacquelyn Mountcastle,
  • Sarah Pelan,
  • Keon Rabbani,
  • Ying Sims,
  • Alan Tracey,
  • Jonathan M. D. Wood,
  • Erich D. Jarvis,
  • James A. Thomson,
  • Mark J. P. Chaisson,
  • Ron Stewart

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03011-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Suncus etruscus is one of the world’s smallest mammals, with an average body mass of about 2 grams. The Etruscan shrew’s small body is accompanied by a very high energy demand and numerous metabolic adaptations. Here we report a chromosome-level genome assembly using PacBio long read sequencing, 10X Genomics linked short reads, optical mapping, and Hi-C linked reads. The assembly is partially phased, with the 2.472 Gbp primary pseudohaplotype and 1.515 Gbp alternate. We manually curated the primary assembly and identified 22 chromosomes, including X and Y sex chromosomes. The NCBI genome annotation pipeline identified 39,091 genes, 19,819 of them protein-coding. We also identified segmental duplications, inferred GO term annotations, and computed orthologs of human and mouse genes. This reference-quality genome will be an important resource for research on mammalian development, metabolism, and body size control.