Chromosome-level assembly reveals a putative Y-autosomal fusion in the sex determination system of the Greenland Halibut ( Reinhardtius hippoglossoides)

• Published in: G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics
• Main Authors: Ferchaud, Anne-Laure, Mérot, Claire, Normandeau, Eric, Ragoussis, Jiannis, Babin, Charles, Djambazian, Haig, Bérubé, Pierre, Audet, Céline, Treble, Margaret, Walkusz, Wojciech, Bernatchez, Louis
• Other Authors: Arbeitman, M, Canada 150 Sequencing Initiative, Genome Canada Technology Platform grants to Jiannis Ragoussis, National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC, Louis Bernatchez, Céline Audet, Pascal Sirois, Réjean Tremblay, Canadian Research Chair in Genomics and Conservation of Aquatic Resources, Ressources Aquatiques Québec
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2021
• Subjects: Greenland; Pacific
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkab376; https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/g3journal/jkab376/41365405/jkab376.pdf; https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/article-pdf/12/1/jkab376/42341237/jkab376.pdf

Abstract Despite the commercial importance of Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides), important gaps still persist in our knowledge of this species, including its reproductive biology and sex determination mechanism. Here, we combined single-molecule sequencing of long reads (Pacific Sciences) with chromatin conformation capture sequencing (Hi-C) data to assemble the first chromosome-level reference genome for this species. The high-quality assembly encompassed more than 598 Megabases (Mb) assigned to 1594 scaffolds (scaffold N50 = 25 Mb) with 96% of its total length distributed among 24 chromosomes. Investigation of the syntenic relationship with other economically important flatfish species revealed a high conservation of synteny blocks among members of this phylogenetic clade. Sex determination analysis revealed that similar to other teleost fishes, flatfishes also exhibit a high level of plasticity and turnover in sex determination mechanisms. A low-coverage whole-genome sequence analysis of 198 individuals revealed that Greenland Halibut possesses a male heterogametic XY system and several putative candidate genes implied in the sex determination of this species. Our study also suggests for the first time in flatfishes that a putative Y-autosomal fusion could be associated with a reduction of recombination typical of the early steps of sex chromosome evolution.