The chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation of Parabotia bimaculata (Cypriniformes: Cobitidae: Botiinae)

Parabotia bimaculata is a rare loach species endemic to southwestern China. A high-quality reference genome is essential for advancing research across various biological fields concerning this species. Here, we report the first chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation of P. bimaculata. The assembled genome spans 610.59 Mb with a contig N50 of 21.19 Mb. Hi-C scaffolding anchored 96.92% of the sequences into 25 pseudo-chromosomes. By integrating homology-based prediction with RNA-sequencing data, we identified 26,312 protein-coding genes, of which 23,833 (90.58%) were functionally annotated. The assembly achieved a 98.54% BUSCO completeness score. This work provides a valuable genomic resource for P. bimaculata, establishing a foundation for future studies in genomics, evolutionary biology, and conservation.