A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Wu's rock agama (Laudakia wui) from low-altitude habitats

Laudakia wui is an endemic lizard species restricted to the Yarlung Zangbo River and its tributaries in Xizang, China. The low-elevation Mêdog population inhabits a hot and humid climate zone influenced by the Indian Ocean warm current, characterized by consistently high temperature and humidity, representing a typical tropical monsoon rainforest ecosystem species. To elucidate the genomic mechanisms underlying its adaptation to this lowland hot-humid environment and assess its conservation implications, we constructed a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome with a size of 1.77 Gb, comprising 6 macrochromosomes and 12 microchromosomes, exhibiting an N50 of 272 Mb and GC content of 42.56%. The genome assembly achieved 94.3% completeness in BUSCO assessment. A total of 19,725 protein-coding genes were annotated with a functional annotation rate of 80.22%. This study provides the genomic resource for the low-altitude population of L. wui, pointing out the direction for future research on the evolutionary adaptation of reptiles to tropical environments while establishing a crucial molecular foundation for conserving biodiversity in the ecologically critical Yarlung Zangbo River basin.