Abstract
The marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata) is an important aquaculture species in South China and Southeast Asia due to its strong adaptability and rapid growth rate. However, the lack of comprehensive genomic resources has hindered in-depth genetic studies and breeding programs. In this study, we generated a high-quality, chromosome-level genome assembly of marble goby using PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing and Hi-C technologies. The final assembly spans 1,068.42 Mb, with 95.51% of the genome anchored to 23 chromosomes. The assembly exhibits a contig N50 of 13.72 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 45.09 Mb. Genome completeness was assessed with a BUSCO score of 98.19%. A total of 22,964 protein-coding genes were predicted, with a BUSCO completeness of 96.15%, and 99.25% of the genes were functionally annotated. Approximately 51.80% of the genome is identified as repeat elements. This high-fidelity genome assembly provides a valuable resource for molecular breeding, comparative genomics, and evolutionary studies of marble goby and related species.