Abstract
The Suminoe oyster Crassostrea ariakensis (Fujita, 1913) is one of the most important ecological and fishery bivalve mollusks with a worldwide distribution. Here, we reported an improved high-quality chromosomal-level genome assembly of C. ariakensis inhabiting the South China Sea, using Nanopore technology, Illumina sequencing, and high-throughput chromosomal conformation capture analysis. The assembled genome size is 631.73 Mb, with contig N50 length of 5.36 Mb and scaffold N50 length of 61.15 Mb, and is assigned to 10 chromosomes. A total of 29,357 protein-coding genes are predicted, 96.68% of which are functionally annotated. The genome contains 347.11 Mb (54.94%) of repetitive elements and 1130 noncoding RNAs. This improved genome assembly of south C. ariakensis is an important resource for understanding oyster diversity and evolution, and provides insights into genetic improvement, protection and management of oyster resource.