Spea multiplicata Genome sequencing and assembly

We produce a draft genome for Mexican spadefoot toads, Spea multiplicata, which represent an unsequenced anuran clade. Atypically for amphibians, spadefoots inhabit deserts. Consequently, they possess many unique adaptations, including rapid growth, prolonged dormancy, phenotypically plastic development, and adaptive, interspecies hybridization. We assembled and annotated a 1.07 Gb Sp. multiplicata genome containing 19,639 genes. Completion of the Sp. multiplicata genome advances efforts to determine the genetic bases of spadefoots' unique adaptations and enhances comparative genomic research in anurans.