A Chromosome Scale Genome Assembly for the Australian blue mussel Mytilus planulatus
- 1University of Trieste
Abstract
Mussels belonging to the genus Mytilus are among the world's most ecologically and economically important bivalve molluscs. Although the genus most likely originated in the Northern Hemisphere, the evolutionary history of Southern Hemisphere lineages, including the timing and number of colonisation events leading to the extant Australian populations, remains debated. Limited genomic resources have hindered the reconstruction of these evolutionary histories. In Australia, distinguishing native Mytilus planulatus from invasive Mytilus galloprovincialis is critical for biosecurity and conservation, but previous molecular approaches lacked sufficient resolution to resolve species boundaries and hybridisation patterns. Here, we present the first chromosome-scale reference genome for M. planulatus. The assembly consists of 14 chromosomes and over 51,000 annotated protein-coding genes per haplotype. Comparative analysis revealed extensive structural variation and widespread hemizygosity despite a largely conserved chromosomal organisation relative to M. galloprovincialis. Population analyses using SNPs and gene presence-absence variation in resequenced individuals confirmed previously inferred patterns of population structure and establish this reference genome as a valuable resource for future studies of genome evolution, adaptation and population genomics in Mytilus.
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BibTeX
@misc{kireta2026chromosome,
title = {{A Chromosome Scale Genome Assembly for the Australian blue mussel Mytilus planulatus}},
author = {D. Kireta and D. E. Nerelli and A. Saco and E. Bortoletto and S. Howitt and U. Rosani and C. Riginos and M. Gerdol},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.28.762448},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.28.762448v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A Chromosome Scale Genome Assembly for the Australian blue mussel Mytilus planulatus
AU - D. Kireta
AU - D. E. Nerelli
AU - A. Saco
AU - E. Bortoletto
AU - S. Howitt
AU - U. Rosani
AU - C. Riginos
AU - M. Gerdol
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.28.762448
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.28.762448v1
AB - Mussels belonging to the genus Mytilus are among the world's most ecologically and economically important bivalve molluscs. Although the genus most likely originated in the Northern Hemisphere, the evolutionary history of Southern Hemisphere lineages, including the timing and number of colonisation events leading to the extant Australian populations, remains debated. Limited genomic resources have hindered the reconstruction of these evolutionary histories. In Australia, distinguishing native Mytilus planulatus from invasive Mytilus galloprovincialis is critical for biosecurity and conservation, but previous molecular approaches lacked sufficient resolution to resolve species boundaries and hybridisation patterns. Here, we present the first chromosome-scale reference genome for M. planulatus. The assembly consists of 14 chromosomes and over 51,000 annotated protein-coding genes per haplotype. Comparative analysis revealed extensive structural variation and widespread hemizygosity despite a largely conserved chromosomal organisation relative to M. galloprovincialis. Population analyses using SNPs and gene presence-absence variation in resequenced individuals confirmed previously inferred patterns of population structure and establish this reference genome as a valuable resource for future studies of genome evolution, adaptation and population genomics in Mytilus.
ER -