A prelude to conservation genomics: First chromosome-level genome assembly of a flying squirrel (Pteromyini: Pteromys volans)

The Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) represents the only European Pteromyini species. Thus, it is biogeographically unique due to its specialised anatomy and biology as a volant rodent. As a result of habitat fragmentation and destruction, Siberian flying squirrels experience severe and ongoing population declines throughout most of their distribution. While considered Least Concern throughout their immense Eurasian distribution, this species is red-listed as Vulnerable and even Critically Endangered in parts of its range. More knowledge about the population structure and overall biology is needed to improve conservation efforts for this umbrella and flagship species of old-growth boreal forests. Here, we present the first chromosome-level genome assembly of any Pteromyini, represented by P. volans (Uoulu_pteVol_1.0). The final assembly has a total length of 2.85 Gbp in 19 chromosome-scale scaffolds with only minor differences in the chromosomal structure compared to other Sci..., , # Data from: A prelude to conservation genomics: First chromosome-level genome assembly of a flying squirrel (Pteromyini: Pteromys volans)

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.3xsj3txth](10.5061/dryad.3xsj3txth)

## Description of the data and file structure

The presented data is related to the publication by Wehrenberg et al.: \"A Prelude to Conservation Genomics: First Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of a Flying Squirrel (Pteromyini: *Pteromys volans*)\" available as a preprint at biorxiv.org (DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.20.644356](https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.20.644356)).

Any questions regarding this dataset or the publication can be addressed to the corresponding authors, Gerrit Wehrenberg ([[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])) and Stefan Prost ([[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])).

### Files and variables

#### File: Pteromys_volans_PV54_hardmasked_genome_assembly.fasta.gz

Description: Hard-masked genome assembly of *Pteromys volans ...,