Phodopus sungorus Genome sequencing and assembly. Phodopus sungorus

Siberian hamsters have a strong tradition for studies that examine seasonal neuroendocrine plasticity due to the robust and naturally-occurring variation at multiple levels of analysis, from genomic to behavioral. Molecular and cellular advances have been stymied due to a lack of an available genome. Using next generation sequencing, we have sequenced the genome of the Siberian hamster (Phodopus sungorus). We performed de novo assembly to generate genomic contigs from short sequencing reads and constructed longer scaffolds. Our genome assembly provides fundamental materials for experimental studies as well as large-scale genomics studies using Siberian hamster as a model organism to investigate the molecular basis of circadian and circannual rhythms as well as neuroendocrine function.