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Genome assembly

To investigate the evolutionary history and adaptive signatures of mink subspecies, chromosome-scale genome assemblies were generated for six individuals representing three southern subspecies: N. vison evergladensis, N. vison vulgivaga, and N. vison lutensis. Genomes were assembled using Illumina short reads, scaffolded with Oxford Nanopore long reads, and aligned to the phased N. vison reference genome. Assemblies ranged from 75.9% to 97.8% complete, with five meeting thresholds for pangenome construction. A reference-free pangenome revealed an open architecture, highlighting considerable genomic diversity among subspecies.

MiLongA: Microbial Long read assembly pipeline