Chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation of the Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii, Percichthyidae)

The Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii) is an important native species in Australian river ecosystems and an emerging species in aquaculture. To advance genomic studies in this species, we generated a chromosome-level genome assembly by integrating PacBio HiFi reads and Hi-C sequencing data. The final assembly spans 779.23 Mb, with 750.57 Mb (96.32%) of sequences anchored into 24 pseudochromosomes. The assembly demonstrates high continuity, with contig and scaffold N50 values of 21.77 Mb and 32.20 Mb, respectively. Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO) assessment showed a completeness of 99.5%. A total of 23,614 protein-coding genes were predicted, with 22,912 (97.06%) of them functionally annotated. This genome assembly provides a fundamental resource for research on adaptive evolution, population genetics, and genomic-assisted breeding of M. peelii.