In recent years, conservation efforts have increased for rare and endangered aquatic wildlife, especially cetaceans. However, the East Asian finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis sunameri), which has a wide distribution in China, has received far less attention and protection. As an endangered small cetacean, the lack of a chromosomal-level reference for the East Asian finless porpoise limits our understanding of its population genetics and conservation biology. To address this issue, we combined PacBio HiFi long reads and Hi-C sequencing data to generate a gapless genome of the East Asian finless porpoise that is approximately 2.5 Gb in size over its 21 autosomes and two sex chromosomes (X and Y). A total of 22,814 protein-coding genes were predicted where ~97.31% were functionally annotated. This high-quality genome assembly of East Asian finless porpoise will not only provide new resources for the comparative genomics of cetaceans and conservation biology of threatened species, but also lay a foundation for more speciation, ecology, and evolutionary studies. Measurement(s) Neophocaena asiaeorientalis sunameri • Gapless genome assembly • sequence annotation Technology Type(s) MGISEQ. 2000 • PacBio HiFi Sequencing • Hi-C Sample Characteristic - Organism Neophocaena asiaeorientalis sunameri Sample Characteristic - Environment seawater Sample Characteristic - Location Yellow Sea near Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, China.
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