No abstract

Crustose coralline algae are some of the most ecologically significant species of red algae occurring in the tropical reef ecosystems. They contribute efficiently to the primary productivity of the reef and helps in carbon sequestration. They act as one of the most suitable substrates for coral larval settlement and metamorphosis. Because of their encrusting nature, they also cement the reefs together, preventing their subsequent degradation. Though numerous studies on taxonomy and barcodes are available for this red algal group, genomic studies are mostly restricted to a few transcriptomes. The group also lacks a reference genome. Porolithon onkodes (Heydrisch) Foslie 1909, is one of the most abundant and ecologically important species found on the tropical reefs. The authors herewith announce the first draft genome of crustose coralline algae. A draft genome of 215 Mb size of P. onkodes was assembled from 22 Gb of paired-end raw data. BUSCO’s (Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs) genome completeness analysis indicated 71% complete BUSCOs against the Eukaryota_odb10 dataset. The assembled genome projected 8150 protein-coding genes. Further comparative and functional genomic studies of the coralline algae group will be possible due to the P. onkodes draft genome.