Chromosome-level genome assembly of Schizodactylus jimo He, 2021 from China (Ensifera: Schizodactylidae)

The Schizodactylidae family, an ancient lineage within Orthoptera, is ideal for studying adaptive evolution due to its sand-dwelling habits and unique tarsi, but genomic data scarcity has hindered research. To fill this knowledge gap, this study presents the first chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation for Schizodactylus jimo, a species endemic to China known for its unique adaptations to sandy environments. Using a combination of PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing and Hi-C scaffolding technologies, we constructed a high-quality reference genome. The final assembly spans 1.192 Gb with an impressive scaffold N50 of 198.77 Mb. A total of 94.65% of the sequence was successfully anchored into 9 pseudochromosomes. The genome's integrity was confirmed by a 98.0% BUSCO completeness score. Annotation identified that 40.51% of the genome consists of repetitive elements and predicted a total of 14,215 protein-coding genes. Of these genes, 12,747 (accounting for 89.67%) have had their functions annotated in different databases.