EBPHK Symposium is going to be held on 30 August 2022. Schedule below: Register now via the following link: http://biodiversity.sls.cuhk.edu.hk/ebphk/?page_id=521

Pacific Rim nations harbour a substantial proportion of the Earth’s nine million species, including several biodiversity hotspots. Genome analysis is now recognised as a fundamental tool in understanding this incredible biodiversity and assisting with its preservation. Although genome sequencing at scale is becoming more affordable, significant challenges remain in achieving the goal of sequencing all…

Accession number WFKH00000000 Assembly size 757,928,205 Number of scaffolds 11,926 Contig N50 49,472 Scaffold N50 72,332,161 BUSCOs 94.60% No.Proteins 45,867

Background Teleost fish play important roles in aquatic ecosystems and aquaculture. Threadfins (Perciformes: Polynemidae) show a range of interesting biology, and are of considerable importance for both wild fisheries and aquaculture. Additionally, the four-finger threadfin Eleutheronema tetradactylum is of conservation relevance since its populations are considered to be in rapid decline and it is classified as endangered.…

A novel way for Hong Kong citizen science? Working out the soil biodiversity of millipedes in Hong Kong with secondary school, NGO, and university: field collection, identification via DNA barcoding, and an electronic platform http://biodiversity.sls.cuhk.edu.hk/millipedes/

Field trail of juvenile horseshoe crab monitoring in Hong Kong using environmental DNA (eDNA) technique. http://biodiversity.sls.cuhk.edu.hk/HorseshoeCrab/?page_id=297&lang=zh

Horseshoe crab genomes reveal the evolutionary fates of genes and microRNAs after three rounds (3R) of whole genome duplication Whole genome duplication (WGD) has occurred in relatively few sexually reproducing invertebrates. Consequently, the WGD that occurred in the common ancestor of horseshoe crabs ~135 million years ago provides a rare opportunity to decipher the evolutionary…

Genomic sequencing and experimental tractability of a new decapod shrimp model Neocaridina denticulata. The speciose Crustacea is the largest subphylum of arthropods on the planet after the Insecta. To date, however, the only publically available sequenced crustacean genome is that of the water flea, Daphnia pulex, a member of the Branchiopoda. While Daphnia is a…

A crustacean annotated transcriptome (CAT) database Background Decapods are an order of crustaceans which includes shrimps, crabs, lobsters and crayfish. They occur worldwide and are of great scientific interest as well as being of ecological and economic importance in fisheries and aquaculture. However, our knowledge of their biology mainly comes from the group which is…

Chromosomal-level reference genome of the incense tree Aquilaria sinensis Trees in the genus Aquilaria (Thymelaeaceae) are known as lign aloes, and are native to the forests of southeast Asia. Lign aloes produce agarwood as an antimicrobial defence. Agarwood has a long history of cultural and medicinal use, and is of considerable commercial value. However, due to habitat…

Jellyfish genomes reveal distinct homeobox gene clusters and conservation of small RNA processing The Phylum Cnidaria represents a close outgroup to Bilateria and includes familiar animals including sea anemones, corals, hydroids, and jellyfish. Here we report genome sequencing and assembly for true jellyfish Sanderia malayensis and Rhopilema esculentum. The homeobox gene clusters are characterised by…

Millipede genomes reveal unique adaptations during myriapod evolution Background The Myriapoda, composed of millipedes and centipedes, is a fascinating but poorly understood branch of life, including species with a highly unusual body plan and a range of unique adaptations to their environment. Here, we sequenced and assembled two chromosomal-level genomes of the millipedes Helicorthomorpha holstii…