Chromosome-level genome assembly of Decorus tungting, an endemic cyprinid from China

Decorus tungting is a vulnerable, endemic cyprinid species of conservation significance, historically abundant in Dongting Lake but now suffering severe population declines due to overfishing and river modifications. However, no genome assembly has been reported for D. tungting, limiting insights into its genetic diversity, adaptive potential, and effective conservation management. Here, we assembled the first chromosome-level genome of D.tungting using PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing, Illumina short-read polishing, and Hi-C chromatin interaction mapping. The 1.14 Gb assembly has a contig N50 of 6.04 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 44.81 Mb, with 99.31% of sequences anchored to 25 chromosomes. Repetitive elements span 574.36 Mb, accounting for 50.28% of the genome. We annotated 24,835 protein-coding genes and 7,312 non-coding RNAs, with BUSCO completeness score of 97.1% in genome mode and 92.7% in protein mode, supporting assembly accuracy and annotation integrity. This high-quality genome assembly of Decorus tungting provides a foundational resource for genetic diversity, adaptive evolution, and evidence-based conservation.