Genome of the Southern Giant Petrel Assembled Using Third-Generation DNA Sequencing and Linked Reads Reveals Evolutionary Traits of Southern Avian

The southern giant petrel Macronectes giganteus , a large seabird of the southern oceans, is one of only two members of the genus Macronectes and is the largest species in the order Procellariiformes. Although these two families account for the vast majority of the avian fauna inhabiting the Antarct...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animals
Main Authors: Sun-Hee Kim, Seung-Jae Lee, Euna Jo, Jangyeon Kim, Jong-U Kim, Jeong-Hoon Kim, Hyun Park, Young-Min Chi
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021
Subjects:
southern giant petrel
Macronectes giganteus
genome assembly
annotation
PacBio sequencing
10x Genomics Chromium technology
Veterinary medicine
SF600-1100
Zoology
QL1-991
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Pacific
Giganteus
Antarc*
Giant Petrel
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072046
https://doaj.org/article/128768936d734f618f95565eedea141a
Description
Summary:The southern giant petrel Macronectes giganteus , a large seabird of the southern oceans, is one of only two members of the genus Macronectes and is the largest species in the order Procellariiformes. Although these two families account for the vast majority of the avian fauna inhabiting the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions, studies on the status of some populations and the associated genetic data are currently extremely limited. In this study, we assembled the genome of M. giganteus by integrating Pacific Biosciences single-molecule real-time sequencing and the Chromium system developed by 10x Genomics. The final M. giganteus genome assembly was 1.248 Gb in size with a scaffold N50 length of 27.4 Mb and a longest scaffold length of 120.4 Mb. The M. giganteus genome contains 14,993 predicted protein-coding genes and has 11.06% repeat sequences. Estimated historical effective population size analysis indicated that the southern giant petrel underwent a severe reduction in effective population size during a period coinciding with the early Pleistocene. The availability of this newly sequenced genome will facilitate more effective genetic monitoring of threatened species. Furthermore, the genome will provide a valuable resource for gene functional studies and further comparative genomic studies on the life history and ecological traits of specific avian species.

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