DeBiasse, M.B., L.M. Schiebelhut, M. Escalona, E. Beraut, C. Fairbairn, M.P.A. Marimuthu,O. Nguyen, R. Sahasrabudhe, M.N Dawson. 2022. A chromosome-level reference genome for the giant pink sea star, Pisaster brevispinus, a species severely impacted by wasting. Journal of Heredity 113:689–698. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esac044
Efforts to protect the ecologically and economically significant California Current Ecosystem from global change will greatly benefit from data about patterns of local adaptation and population connectivity. To facilitate that work, we present a reference-quality genome for the giant pink sea star, Pisaster brevispinus, a species of ecological importance along the Pacific west coast of North America that has been heavily impacted by environmental change and disease. The reference genome for P. brevispinus is an important first step toward the goal of producing a comprehensive, population genomics view of ecological and evolutionary processes along the California coast. This resource will help scientists, managers, and policy makers in their task of understanding and protecting critical coastal regions from the impacts of global change.
Read more (Open Access) at https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esac044