The first telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of a freshwater bivalve: Gibbosula rochechouartii

Gibbosula rochechouartii is a vulnerable freshwater mussel species endemic to China, with severely degraded habitats. To date, there is no high-quality genome available for this species. In this study, we integrated PacBio HiFi, Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT), and Hi-C approaches to generate the first telomere-to-telomere genome assembly for this species. The completed genome spans 2.99 Gb with 93.41% completeness, anchored to 19 chromosomes. Comparative genomic analyses indicate that among all currently published unionoidea genomes, Margaritifera margaritifera is the closest relative to G. rochechouartii . This high-quality reference genome is expected to significantly advance conservation research efforts for this species.