Open AccessA hybridde novoassembly of the sea pansy (Renilla muelleri) genome
Author(s) -
Justin Jiang,
Andrea M. Quattrini,
Warren R. Francis,
Joseph F. Ryan,
Estefanía Rodríguez,
Catherine S. McFadden
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
gigascience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.947
H-Index - 54
ISSN - 2047-217X
DOI - 10.1093/gigascience/giz026
Subject(s) - biology , sea anemone , genome , sequence assembly , anthozoa , cnidaria , evolutionary biology , gene , coral , ecology , genetics , gene expression , transcriptome
More than 3,000 species of octocorals (Cnidaria, Anthozoa) inhabit an expansive range of environments, from shallow tropical seas to the deep-ocean floor. They are important foundation species that create coral "forests," which provide unique niches and 3-dimensional living space for other organisms. The octocoral genus Renilla inhabits sandy, continental shelves in the subtropical and tropical Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. Renilla is especially interesting because it produces secondary metabolites for defense, exhibits bioluminescence, and produces a luciferase that is widely used in dual-reporter assays in molecular biology. Although several anthozoan genomes are currently available, the majority of these are hexacorals. Here, we present a de novo assembly of an azooxanthellate shallow-water octocoral, Renilla muelleri.