High-Resolution Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly and Annotation of Triplophysa stewarti, an Endemic Plateau Loach...

The bottom-dwelling fish Triplophysa stewarti, endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is a valuable model for studying high-altitude adaptation in aquatic ecosystems. However, the lack of a high-quality reference genome has hindered comparative genomic and evolutionary studies within this genus. Here, we present a chromosome-level genome assembly for T. stewarti, generated using PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing and Hi-C scaffolding. The 697.9 Mb assembly is highly continuous (scaffold N50 of 253.58 Mb) and encompasses 25 chromosomes, representing 92.65% of the genome. BUSCO analysis indicated a 98.4% completeness, supporting the high quality of the assembly. We annotated 28,009 protein-coding genes, with 97.04% being functionally assigned across multiple databases (NR, UniProt, KEGG, GO, Pfam and InterPro). Additionally, repetitive elements constituted 42.47% of the genome, and we identified 52,709 non-coding RNAs. This high-quality reference genome provides a fundamental resource for exploring the adaptive evolution, population structure, and conservation genetics of T. stewarti and related species on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.