Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-12-2026
Original Citation
Li K,
Ciosek J,
Koren S,
Phillippy A,
Zhu Y,
Lauer W,
Brooks S,
Bouffard G,
Pickett B,
Dumont B,
Smith M,
Kalbfleisch T,
Doris P.
Telomere-to-telomere genome assembly and a pangenome for the rat. Cell Genom. 2026 Aug 12;6(8):101281
Keywords
JMG, Animals, Telomere, Rats, Genome, Male, Meiosis, Centromere, Y Chromosome
JAX Source
Cell Genom. 2026 Aug 12;6(8):101281
ISSN
2666-979X
PMID
42561951
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xgen.2026.101281
Abstract
We report a complete rodent telomere-to-telomere genome assembly from the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus. Annotation was enriched with multi-tissue long-read RNA sequencing and uncovered numerous novel genes. Assembly of both sex chromosomes reveals the absence of gene coding in the presumed pseudo-autosomal regions and the presence of centromeric satellite repeats on distal chromosome Y (chrY). We provide evidence of meiotic conjunction between Xp and Yq. The genome assembly reveals several expanded autosomal regions enriched for testis-expressed genes. Finally, we have generated a pangenome from recent high-quality assemblies of 8 distinct inbred rat strain genomes. This allows the strain-specific distribution of structural variation to be examined. Non-allelic homologous recombination has produced multiple copies of several genes with evidence of transcription from duplicated copies.
Creative Commons License
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