Data from: First draft genome of an iconic clownfish species (Amphiprion frenatus)

Clownfishes (or anemonefishes) form an iconic group of coral reef fishes, principally known for their mutualistic interaction with sea anemones. They are characterized by particular life-history traits, such as a complex social structure and mating system involving sequential hermaphroditism, coupled with an exceptionally long lifespan. Additionally, clownfishes are considered to be one of the rare group to have experienced an adaptive radiation in the marine environment. Here, we assembled and annotated the first genome of a clownfish species, the tomato clownfish (Amphiprion frenatus). We obtained a total of 17,801 assembled scaffolds, containing a total of 26,917 genes. The completeness of the assembly and annotation was satisfying, with 96.5% of the Actinopterygii BUSCOs (benchmarking universal Single-Copy Orthologs) being retrieved in A. frenatus assembly. The quality of the resulting assembly is comparable to other bony fish assemblies. This resource is valuable for the advancing of studies of the particular life-history traits of clownfishes, as well as being useful for population genetic studies and the development of new phylogenetic markers. It will also open the way to comparative genomics. Indeed, future genomic comparison among closely related fishes may provide means to identify genes related to the unique adaptations to different sea anemone hosts, as well as better characterize the genomic signatures of an adaptive radiation.

小丑鱼（又称海葵鱼）是珊瑚礁鱼类中的标志性类群，以与海葵的互利共生关系而广受关注。它们具备独特的生活史特征，例如包含顺序性雌雄同体现象的复杂社会结构与交配系统，加之极长的寿命。此外，小丑鱼被认为是少数在海洋环境中经历适应性辐射的类群之一。本研究组装并注释了首个小丑鱼物种的基因组——番茄小丑鱼（Amphiprion frenatus）。我们共获得17801条组装支架（scaffolds），包含26917个基因。该组装与注释的完整性令人满意，在番茄小丑鱼的组装基因组中检索到了96.5%的辐鳍鱼纲（Actinopterygii）基准通用单拷贝同源基因（BUSCO，benchmarking universal Single-Copy Orthologs）。所得基因组组装的质量可与其他硬骨鱼的基因组组装相媲美。该基因组资源对于推进小丑鱼独特生活史特征相关研究具有重要价值，同时可用于种群遗传学研究以及新型系统发育标记的开发，还将为比较基因组学研究开辟新路径。具体而言，未来对近缘鱼类开展的基因组比较研究，将有助于鉴定与不同海葵宿主特异性适应相关的基因，并更好地解析适应性辐射的基因组特征。