A highly contiguous reference genome for Scalesia gordilloi (Asteraceae), a critically endangered plant endemic to the Galapagos Islands.
- 1Laboratorio de Biotecnología Vegetal, Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, Ecuador.
- 2Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, San Cristóbal, Galápagos, Ecuador.
- 3Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Estación de Biodiversidad Tiputini, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, Ecuador.
Abstract
Scalesia gordilloi is a critically endangered species endemic to San Cristóbal Island in the Galapagos archipelago and represents one of the most unique and vulnerable lineages within the adaptive radiation of the genus Scalesia. Despite its evolutionary distinctiveness and conservation importance, no genomic resources have been available for this species. Here, we present the first high-quality reference genome of S. gordilloi, generated using Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing. Across three PromethION R10.4.1 flow cells, we obtained 80.5 Gb of long reads (~22× coverage), which enabled a highly contiguous 3.61 Gb assembly composed of only 549 contigs and an N50 of 106.6 Mb. BUSCO completeness reached 98.6%, with assembly metrics comparable to other high-quality Asteraceae genomes. Repeat annotation revealed that 76.2% of the genome is composed of interspersed elements, dominated by LTR retrotransposons. Structural annotation resulted in 47,913 high-confidence protein-coding genes, consistent with expectations for large, repetitive Asteraceae genomes. This genome provides a critical foundation for conservation genomics, enabling assessments of genetic diversity, inbreeding, and adaptive potential in the species. It further establishes a framework for comparative genomics across the Scalesia radiation and supports future efforts to protect and restore one of the most threatened plant lineages of the Galapagos Islands.
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BibTeX
@article{pozo2026highly,
title = {{A highly contiguous reference genome for Scalesia gordilloi (Asteraceae), a critically endangered plant endemic to the Galapagos Islands.}},
author = {Gabriela Pozo and Gonzalo Rivas-Torres and Emilio Vélez-Darquea and Doménica Barragán-Orbe and Maria de Lourdes Torres},
journal = {GigaByte (Hong Kong, China)},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.46471/gigabyte.192},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909222},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A highly contiguous reference genome for Scalesia gordilloi (Asteraceae), a critically endangered plant endemic to the Galapagos Islands.
AU - Gabriela Pozo
AU - Gonzalo Rivas-Torres
AU - Emilio Vélez-Darquea
AU - Doménica Barragán-Orbe
AU - Maria de Lourdes Torres
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
JO - GigaByte (Hong Kong, China)
DO - 10.46471/gigabyte.192
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909222
AB - Scalesia gordilloi is a critically endangered species endemic to San Cristóbal Island in the Galapagos archipelago and represents one of the most unique and vulnerable lineages within the adaptive radiation of the genus Scalesia. Despite its evolutionary distinctiveness and conservation importance, no genomic resources have been available for this species. Here, we present the first high-quality reference genome of S. gordilloi, generated using Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing. Across three PromethION R10.4.1 flow cells, we obtained 80.5 Gb of long reads (~22× coverage), which enabled a highly contiguous 3.61 Gb assembly composed of only 549 contigs and an N50 of 106.6 Mb. BUSCO completeness reached 98.6%, with assembly metrics comparable to other high-quality Asteraceae genomes. Repeat annotation revealed that 76.2% of the genome is composed of interspersed elements, dominated by LTR retrotransposons. Structural annotation resulted in 47,913 high-confidence protein-coding genes, consistent with expectations for large, repetitive Asteraceae genomes. This genome provides a critical foundation for conservation genomics, enabling assessments of genetic diversity, inbreeding, and adaptive potential in the species. It further establishes a framework for comparative genomics across the Scalesia radiation and supports future efforts to protect and restore one of the most threatened plant lineages of the Galapagos Islands.
SN - 2709-4715
ER -