In a significant scientific breakthrough, scientists at the ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIBA) in Chennai have successfully sequenced and assembled the whole genome and full-length transcriptome of the mangrove red snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus. This fish is a valuable seafood commodity of economic importance, high consumer demand, and significant aquaculture potential. ICAR-CIBA has also achieved success in breeding this species.
The assembled genome, which is 1.03 Gb in size, comprises 400 scaffolds with an N50 of 33.8 Mb and has been assessed to be 97.2% complete using BUSCO benchmarking. The genome contains 27,172 protein-coding genes, providing a critical resource for identifying genes and variants associated with adaptive traits. The research findings have been published in the journal Scientific Data, part of the Nature group of journals.
This decoded genome information is expected to enhance growth potential, reproduction, maturation, and other economically important traits in the mangrove red snapper. The resources will pave the way for genomic selection programs in aquaculture and fisheries, significantly contributing to the genetic improvement of farmed fish for sustainable production.
The research team from ICAR-CIBA includes M.S. Shekhar, Vinaya Kumar Katneni, Ashok Kumar Jangam, J. Raymond Jani Angel, and M. Kailasam. The Genome Sequencing Project was financially supported by the ICAR-Consortium Research Platform on Genomics and coordinated by Dr. Joykrushna Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries Science), ICAR, New Delhi, and Dr. Vindhya Mohindra, ICAR-NBFGR, Lucknow.
Source: ICAR-CIBA, Chennai
