This is not a drill

Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) are primates from equatorial Africa. They are exceptionally colorful, perhaps more so than any other mammal. The bright blue colors on the male mandrill's face are produced from light refraction in collagen fibers, an example of structural coloration. Mandrills are also the largest of all monkeys! The mandrill is classified as vulnerable by IUCN.

This week, we revisited the draft genome assembly from (Yin, Yan et al., bioRxiv, 2018), from a team led by Karsten Kristiansen at the University of Copenhagen. We've now upgraded the genome to include chromosome-length scaffolds. We thank Houston Zoo for providing us with a sample used for Hi-C library preparation!

See below our usual analysis to compare how the 21 chromosomes in the new mandrill genome assembly relate to those of the mandrill’s close relative, the human.

Whole genome alignment between the current best human genome reference, GRCh38 (hg38), and GBI_mandrill_1.0_HiC, the upgraded mandrill genome assembly.

SEAL Team

Harbor seals are one of the most common marine mammals. The global population of harbor seals is 350,000–500,000, but subspecies in certain habitats are threatened [1]. Once a common practice, sealing is now illegal in many nations within the animal's range, and in the US harbor seals, like all marine mammals, are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

To contribute to the work done on harbor seal conservation and management we share the chromosome-length assembly, here. This work is based on the draft genome assembly generated by the Canada's Genome Enterprise (CGEN). We thank SeaWorld for the sample used for Hi-C library preparation!

See below how the chromosomes of the new genome assembly compare to another pinniped recently assembled by the DNA Zoo, the Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris). The karyotypes appear to be practically identical up to a chromosome fusion event: chromosomes #9 and #2 in the Northern elephant seal = chromosome #2 in the harbor seal assembly.

Whole genome alignment plot between the genome assemblies of the harbor seal (GSC_HSeal_1.0_HiC) and the Northern elephant seal (Mirounga_angustirostris_HiC).

Jumping the hoops for the sable antelope

The sable antelope (Hippotragus niger), native to the savannah woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa, is a species that is being actively managed in ranches and zoos all over the United States. To help characterize the genetic status of the managed population as compared to the wild, our colleagues from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Klaus-Peter Koepfli and Budhan Pukazhhenthhi with coauthors have recently created a draft genome assembly for the sable antelope, now available through G3: Early Online web page.

Today we share a chromosome-length assembly based on this draft, with a sample for the Hi-C library preparation provided to us by SeaWorld.

Check out below how the 30 chromosomes of the new assembly relate to the 30 chromosomes of the cow Bos taurus (genome assembly Bos_taurus_UMD_3.1.1, from Zimin et al., Genome Biology, 2009). The results suggest extensive homology!

Whole-genome alignment plot between the chromosomes in the new sable antelope genome assembly (Sable_antelope_Masurca.scf_HiC) and those of the domestic cow (Bos_taurus_UMD_3.1.1, from Zimin et al., 2009).