Poecilia picta Genome sequencing and assembly

There is a remarkable diversity of sex chromosome systems among closely related Poecillids. Importantly, Poecilia picta is the first example of complete sex chromosome dosage compensation in fishes. Thus, these species are an ideal system to study sex chromosome divergence and the evolution of dosage compensation as it relates to sex differences. However, the use of P. picta is hindered by the lack of a well assembled and annotated genome. The opportunity to examine sex differences in the genome and epigenome of P. picta will allow us to significantly advance our understanding of how sex chromosomes and dosage compensation systems evolve, and the role of epigenetic mechanisms in sex chromosome dosage compensation. A reference genome will also significantly aid in studies of ecological adaptation and evolution.

近缘花鳉科（Poeciliidae）鱼类的性染色体系统呈现出显著的多样性。尤为重要的是，彩绘花鳉（Poecilia picta）是鱼类中首个被证实存在完全性染色体剂量补偿（dosage compensation）的物种。因此，该类群是研究性染色体分化以及与性别差异相关的剂量补偿演化的理想研究模型。然而，彩绘花鳉的相关研究目前仍受限于缺乏组装完整且注释完善的参考基因组。若能对彩绘花鳉的基因组与表观基因组中的性别差异展开解析，将极大深化我们对性染色体及剂量补偿系统的演化规律、以及表观遗传机制在性染色体剂量补偿中所发挥作用的认知。此外，高质量参考基因组也将为生态适应与演化相关研究提供关键助力。