Genome assembly of the Pakistani river buffalo Nili Ravi breed

The Nili Ravi buffalo is a significant breed within the river buffalo species (<i>Bubalus bubalis</i>), primarily hailing from the fertile areas surrounding the Sutlej River and Ravi Valley in Pakistan, with its genetic roots traced back to the Murrah buffalo. This breed is noted for its considerable size, with adult females typically weighing around 450 kg and males approximately 600 kg, and is chiefly employed for high-yield dairy production. Morphologically, Nili Ravi buffaloes predominantly feature a black coat in about 85% of the population, while the remaining individuals exhibit a brown hue accented by distinctive white markings on the face, forehead, muzzle, legs, and a tuft of hair on the tail. The breed is characterized by a robust build, featuring a deep, broad chest, a wide sternum, and a well-formed udder with long, evenly spaced teats, which signifies its substantial lactational potential. The horns are short, twisted, and curved with broad bases, whereas the neck shows sexual dimorphismlong and slender in females, and thick and sturdy in males. The tail is symmetrical, with a broad base that tapers to a tuft, which may rest close to the ground. (adapted from vi.wikipedia.org)<br>We present a publicly available haplotype-resolved contig-level genome assembly of the Nili Ravi buffalo, with 102.5 Gb (~35 fold coverage) of sequence data. The complete assembly spans 2.95 Gb (hap1) / 2.92 Gb (hap2), with contig N50 of 83 Mb (hap1) / 72 Mb (hap2). The BUSCO analysis indicates a completeness of 97.9% (both hap1 &amp; hap2).