The complete genome of a songbird

作者：Giulio Formenti, Nivesh Jain, Jack A Medico, Marco Sollitto, Dmitry Antipov, Suziane Alves Barcellos, Matthew T. Biegler, Ines Borges, Jong-How Chang, Ying Chen, Haoyu Cheng, Helena B. Conceição, Matthew H. Davenport, L. Oliveira, Erick Duarte, Gillian P. Durham, Jonathan Fenn, Niamh Forde, Pedro A. F. Galante, K. Gerhardt, Alice Maria Giani, Simona Giunta, Juhyun Kim, Aleksey Komissarov, Bonhwang Koo, Sergey Koren, Denis M. Larkin, Chul Lee, Heng Li, Kateryna D. Makova, Patrick Masterson, Terence D. Murphy, Kirsty McCaffrey, Rafael L. V. Mercuri, Yeojung Na, Mary J. O’Connell, Shujun Ou, Adam M. Phillippy, M. Popova, Arang Rhie, Francisco J. Ruíz-Ruano, Simona Secomandi, Linnéa Smeds, Alexander Suh, Tatiana Tilley, Niki Vontzou, Paul D. Waters, Jennifer Balacco, Erich D. Jarvis · 发表于：Cell · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.018 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Genetic diversity and population structure、Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies、Genetic and Environmental Crop Studies

Bird genomes are the smallest among amniotes; however, they remain challenging to assemble due to their structural complexity. This study presents a fully phased diploid telomere-to-telomere reference genome for the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), a model organism for neuroscience and evolutionary genomics. Combining sequencing strategies allowed the closing of nearly all gaps, adding ∼90 Mbp of sequence (7.8%). The assembly contains gapless sequences for all microchromosomes, including the elusive dot chromosomes with their distinctive architecture. The genome was comprehensively annotated for genes, repeats, and structural variants. Complete centromeres were identified, along with candidate DNA-binding centromere protein B (CENP-B) homologs, suggesting that birds possess a kinetochore-associated CENP system similar to that of mammals. Relative to the previous reference generated by the Vertebrate Genomes Project, 2,710 (8.13%) previously unassembled or unannotated genes were identified. This complete genome of a songbird serves as a public reference and illuminates avian genome architecture and function.