Rob Waterhouse (@rmwaterhouse.bsky.social)

First Chromosome-level Genome Assembly and Annotation of an Endangered Freshwater Stingray ( Fontitrygon garouaensis ) from Africa On November 15, 2023, an adult female F. garouaensis specimen with a disc length of approximately 308 mm, which is within the average length (748.9 mm) reported by Oladipo et al.9, was collected from local fishermen on the River Niger at Jebba, Kwara State, Nigeria (N 9.149356, E 4.865930). The specimen was initially identified based on morphological characteristics following the identification guide by Olaosebikan and Raji19. Muscle tissue was subsequently sampled for whole-genome sequencing (Illumina short reads, PacBio HiFi long reads, and Hi-C). For the transcriptome sequencing, assembly, and annotation, five tissues (liver, eye, gill, body tissue, and spleen) were sampled. All tissue samples were preserved in RNAlater™ Stabilization Solution (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) and stored at −80 °C in Dr Nneji’s Laboratory, Department of Biology, Howard University, USA. Samples were later shipped to Novogene Inc. for hybrid genome sequencing and transcriptomic analyses. Genomic DNA extraction, library preparation and sequencing High-quality, high-molecular-weight genomic DNA (gDNA) was extracted from muscle tissue using a combination of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) protocols, following Healey et al.20. The quality of the extracted gDNA was quantified using a Qubit 4.0 fluorometer (Invitrogen, USA), and DNA purity was assessed with 1% agarose... https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-026-06646-0