Building the genomic infrastructure for cetacean research and management

PI: Morin, Phillip (NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center)
Co-PI(s): Jarvis, Erich (Rockefeller University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute) : Ryder, Oliver (Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance)
Start Year: 2020 | Duration: 3 years
Partners: NOAA, Rockefeller University, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Revive & Restore

Project Abstract:

This project will generate high-quality, chromosome-length reference genome sequences for five cetacean species representing evolutionary diversity across the cetacean phylogeny. We will partner with the Vertebrate Genome Project, using their optimized pipeline of multiple complementary long-read sequencing and genome mapping technologies, genome assembly, and curation in a public genome database (National Center for Biotechnology Information Genome Database). Reference genomes provide the genomic infrastructure to directly ascertain biologically relevant information (taxonomy, demographic history, inbreeding, genome organization, genes), and genomic resources for population-level studies (population structure, breeding structure, epigenetic age determination and response to acute and chronic stress, immune response, local adaptation, potential response to climate change).