Near complete telomere-to-telomere level genome assembly of blackchin tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron)

The blackchin tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron) is a euryhaline teleost, renowned for its exceptional osmoregulatory ability to thrive across a wide salinity range. However, studies on the genome of Sarotherodon melanotheron are limited, impeding the investigative work on genetic selection at the molecular level. With the sequencing technologies, we present a near complete telomere-to-telomere level genome assembly for Sarotherodon melanotheron, which spans 996.95 Mb with a scaffold N50 of 42.04 Mb and is anchored to 22 chromosomes. This genome assembly was generated by integrating multiple sequencing technologies, including short reads, PacBio HiFi long reads, ONT ultra-long reads, and Hi-C data. The genome assembly demonstrated a high degree of completeness, with 98.36% complete BUSCOs were successfully identified. A total of 391.75 Mb repeating elements and 29,328 protein-coding genes were detected through genome assembly. Functional annotation was successfully completed for 92.10% of the 29,328 protein-coding genes, with a BUSCO score of 99.22%. This genome assembly of Sarotherodon melanotheron not only provides critical insights into its biological traits and genetic diversity but also paves the way for future genetic improvement.