Draft assemblies for 177 bird species enhance genus-level coverage

作者：Guangji Chen, Shuang Wang, Daniel Bilyeli Øksnebjerg, Sascha Dreyer Nielsen, Wei Dai, Wei Jiang, Jing Liang, Wei Han, Chengran Zhou, Qi Li, Bent Petersen, Ara Monadjem, Zamekile D. Bhembe, Machawe Maphalala, Diego Ocampo, Luis Sandoval, Jörns Fickel, Alex D Greenwood, Claudia A. Szentiks, Marco Roller, Sharon Birks, Adam D. Leaché, Alejandro Rico‐Guevara, Jérôme Fuchs, Nguyen Tran Vy, Christina Hvilsom, Juliana Andrea Berner, Jan T. Lifjeld, Arild Johnsen, Lars Erik Johannessen, Kim Labuschagne, Knud A. Jønsson, Martin Irestedt, Andrew Hart Reeve, Leo Joseph, Olof Hellgren, Robb T. Brumfield, Theresa M. Burg, Juan Carlos Illera, Alexandre Aleixo, Ben Smit, Frank E Rheindt, Jessica Lee, Isao Nishiumi, J. Quesada, John P Dumbacher, Manuel Schweizer, Michael J Andersen, Christopher C. Witt, Richard A Phillips, Richard Prum, Kristof Zyskowski, Steven M Goodman, Marie Jeanne Raherilalao, Ulf Ottosson, Yahkat Barshep, Sam Ivande, Vojtěch Brlík, Emmanuel Okposio, Bonny Koane, Tri Haryoko, Erich D Jarvis, Carsten Rahbek, Fumin Lei, Gary R Graves, Shaohong Feng, Peter A. Hosner, M Thomas P Gilbert, Guojie Zhang · 发表于：GigaScience · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1093/gigascience/giag045 · 研究领域：Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies、Genetic diversity and population structure、Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies

BACKGROUND: With over 10,000 recognized species, birds constitute one of the most diverse and widely distributed vertebrate groups. Although avian genomics has advanced rapidly over the past decade, substantial gaps remain across the global avifauna. Filling these gaps is essential for understanding macroevolutionary patterns, population structure, and the molecular basis of ecological and behavioral diversity. Worldwide museum collections represent invaluable resources for filling these gaps, yet the typically degraded DNA and limited quantities from historical specimens have posed significant challenges for generating high-quality genome assemblies. RESULTS: Here, the Bird Genome 10 K Project adopted low-input sequencing strategies that reduce costs while improving assembly quality compared with earlier order- and family-level genomes. Using mainly stLFR, complemented by 10X Genomics and standard next-generation sequencing, we assembled 177 avian genomes from museum specimens and tissue collections representing 161 genera, including 102 newly sequenced at the genomic level. The assemblies average ∼1.2 Gb in size, with scaffold N50 = 8.03 Mb, contig N50 = 120 kb, 93% BUSCO completeness, and Merqury Quality Value score of 56. CONCLUSIONS: These genomes greatly expand avian taxonomic coverage and demonstrate the efficiency of low-input sequencing for generating high-quality assemblies from limited and often degraded material sourced from museum specimens. This resource provide...