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Chromosome-level genome assemblies of the red algae Porphyra dioica and Porphyra linearis

Research output: Contribution to journalA3: National journal article with peer review, not included in A1 or A2

  • Jordi Morcillo
  • Sofie D hondt
  • Agnieszka Lipinska
  • Silke Bouckenooghe
  • Louka Noyen
  • Antoine Van de Vloet
  • Sofie Vranken
  • Jessica Knoop
  • Frederik Leliaert
  • Olivier De Clerck
As one of the earliest-diverging multicellular eukaryotic lineages, the bladed Bangiales (Rhodophyta) possess a deep evolutionary history with a central role in the multi-billion-dollar global seaweed aquaculture industry. Although North Atlantic representatives are emerging candidates for regional mariculture, the scarcity of high-quality genomic resources for these taxa hinders both fundamental research and commercial optimization. To address this, we present the first chromosome-level genome assemblies for two native European species: Porphyra dioica (150.44 Mbp) and Porphyra linearis (95.22 Mbp). By integrating Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) long-read sequencing with Hi-C proximity ligation, we generated highly contiguous nuclear genomes resolved into five chromosomes. Structural gene models were predicted through the BRAKER3 pipeline, identifying 12,548 and 10,382 protein-coding genes for P. dioica and P. linearis, respectively. Subsequent homology-based functional annotation characterized 57.4% and 59.8% of these predicted proteins. Supplemented by circularized organellar genomes, these reference genomes provide a critical framework for future research, enabling comparative studies of Atlantic-Pacific divergence and facilitating the development of selective breeding programs for sustainable European aquaculture.
Original languageEnglish
JournalbioRxiv
Pages (from-to)n.a.
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2026
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