Abigail L Lind, Yvonne Y Y Lai, Yulia Mostovoy, Alisha K Holloway, Alessio Iannucci, Angel C Y Mak, Marco Fondi, Valerio Orlandini, Walter L Eckalbar, Massimo Milan, Michail Rovatsos, Ilya G Kichigin, Alex I Makunin, Martina Johnson Pokorná, Marie Altmanová, Vladimir A Trifonov, Elio Schijlen, Lukáš Kratochvíl, Renato Fani, Petr Velenský, Ivan Rehák, Tomaso Patarnello, Tim S Jessop, James W Hicks, Oliver A Ryder, Joseph R Mendelson, Claudio Ciofi, Pui-Yan Kwok, Katherine S Pollard, Benoit G Bruneau
Monitor lizards are unique among ectothermic reptiles in that they have high aerobic capacity and distinctive cardiovascular physiology resembling that of endothermic mammals. Here, we sequence the genome of the Komodo dragon Varanus komodoensis, the largest extant monitor lizard, and generate a high-resolution de novo chromosome-assigned genome assembly for V. komodoensis using a hybrid approach of long-range sequencing and single-molecule optical mapping. Comparing the genome of V. komodoensis with those of related species, we find evidence of positive selection in pathways related to energy metabolism, cardiovascular homoeostasis, and haemostasis...
August 2019: Nature Ecology & Evolution