Abstract
The reference genome of Lineus lacteus is a crucial resource for studying the genetic basis of novelty and the evolution of remarkable traits, such as regeneration and venom, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptability in marine intertidal ecosystems. Lineus lacteus belongs to the Nemertea, a phylum of worm-shaped animals comprising approximately 1,300 species within the Lophotrochozoa - a superphylum of animals including leeches, snails, and other invertebrates that is crucial to our understanding of bilaterian evolution. Despite their evolutionary and ecological relevance, genomic resources for the phylum Nemertea remain scarce. We assembled the entirety of the L. lacteus genome into 19 contiguous chromosomal pseudomolecules. This chromosome-level assembly encompasses 0.37 Gb, composed of 71 contigs and 27 scaffolds, with contig and scaffold N50 values of 8.9 Mb and 20.4 Mb, respectively.