Genome sequencing and assembly of near threatened Clarias dussumieri (Valenciennes, 1840), an endemic catfish of peninsular India

Clarias dussumieri, a near threatened freshwater catfish, is endemic to peninsular India and has aquaculture potential. Unlike its sister species, C. magur, the male fish needs not be sacrificed during captive breeding. Thus, the generation of genomic information of this species becomes significant for effective genome mining through the bioprospecting of novel genes for important production traits. In this study, the genome assembly was undertaken to address this gap by generating high quality chromosome level genome assembly using PacBio long reads and Hi-C scaffolding. The total assembled genome was found to be 918.72 Mb in size and showed 95.23% completeness. Its characterization exhibited 41.46% repeats, 1,174,725 SSRs and 25,369 predicted genes with functional annotations. The Single copy orthologs analysis placed C. dussumieri in a distinct position with C. magur. The comprehensive genomic information offers resources for comparative genomics with other Clarias species for improvement of economic traits.