A chromosome-level genome assembly for the Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)

• Published in: G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics
• Main Authors: Squires, Theodore E., Rödin Mörch, Patrik, Formenti, Giulio, Tracey, Alan, Abueg, Linelle, Brajuka, Nadolina, Jarvis, Erich, Halapi, Eva C., Melsted, Pall, Höglund, Jacob, Magnusson, Kristinn Petur
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Zooekologi 2023
• Subjects: Rock Ptarmigan; Lagopus muta; reference genome; PacBio Hifi; evolutionary biology; Evolutionsbiologi; Iceland; rock ptarmigan
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-512755; https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkad099

The Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) is a cold-adapted, largely sedentary, game bird with a Holarctic distribution. The species represents an important example of an organism likely to be affected by ongoing climatic shifts across a disparate range. We provide here a highquality reference genome and mitogenome for the Rock Ptarmigan assembled from PacBio HiFi and Hi-C sequencing of a female bird from Iceland. The total size of the genome is 1.03 Gb with a scaffold N50 of 71.23 Mb and a contig N50 of 17.91 Mb. The final scaffolds represent all 40 predicted chromosomes, and the mitochondria with a BUSCO score of 98.6%. Gene annotation resulted in 16,078 protein-coding genes out of a total 19,831 predicted (81.08% excluding pseudogenes). The genome included 21.07% repeat sequences, and the average length of genes, exons, and introns were 33605, 394, and 4265 bp, respectively. The availability of a new reference-quality genome will contribute to understanding the Rock Ptarmigan's unique evolutionary history, vulnerability to climate change, and demographic trajectories around the globe while serving as a benchmark for species in the family Phasianidae (order Galliformes).