Chromosome-scale genome assembly and annotation of Saccharina sculpera

Saccharina sculpera is a brown alga (kelp) that is rich in fucoidan (a sulphated heteropolysaccharide) and has shown great potential for medical applications. However, fucoidan accumulation mechanisms in S. sculpera have not yet been elucidated owing to the absence of its genome assembly. In this research, we generated a chromosome-level genome of S. sculpera using Illumina, PacBio HiFi, and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture sequencing technologies. The assembled genome was 726.56 Mb in size, with a contig N50 of 1.08 Mb and scaffold N50 of 19.12 Mb. Approximately 98% of the genomic sequences were ultimately anchored to 34 pseudo-chromosomes. Totally, 25,685 protein-coding genes were identified, of which 86.42% were functionally annotated. Additionally, 438.5 Mb repeat sequences were predicted, which accounted for 60.26% of the assembled genome. The chromosome-level genome of S. sculpera offers an invaluable genetic resource for investigating the molecular mechanism underlying fucoidan accumulation in brown algae.