AI Article Synopsis
- The Aeolian wall lizard, an endangered species native to the small islands of the Aeolian archipelago in Italy, is critically endangered due to limited habitat and declining populations.
- Researchers created a high-quality, chromosome-scale reference genome for this lizard using advanced sequencing technologies, which included detailed analysis of its Z and W sexual chromosomes.
- The resulting genome, which is comprehensive and well-assembled, will serve as a valuable resource for conserving this species and will improve the genetic understanding of other under-researched squamate reptiles.
Article Abstract
The Aeolian wall lizard, Podarcis raffonei, is an endangered species endemic to the Aeolian archipelago, Italy, where it is present only in 3 tiny islets and a narrow promontory of a larger island. Because of the extremely limited area of occupancy, severe population fragmentation and observed decline, it has been classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Using Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) High Fidelity (HiFi) long-read sequencing, Bionano optical mapping and Arima chromatin conformation capture sequencing (Hi-C), we produced a high-quality, chromosome-scale reference genome for the Aeolian wall lizard, including Z and W sexual chromosomes. The final assembly spans 1.51 Gb across 28 scaffolds with a contig N50 of 61.4 Mb, a scaffold N50 of 93.6 Mb, and a BUSCO completeness score of 97.3%. This genome constitutes a valuable resource for the species to guide potential conservation efforts and more generally for the squamate reptiles that are underrepresented in terms of available high-quality genomic resources.
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Article Synopsis
- The Aeolian wall lizard, an endangered species native to the small islands of the Aeolian archipelago in Italy, is critically endangered due to limited habitat and declining populations.
- Researchers created a high-quality, chromosome-scale reference genome for this lizard using advanced sequencing technologies, which included detailed analysis of its Z and W sexual chromosomes.
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