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Eleutherodactylus coqui | Coqui | Photo by Chris Brown cwbrown@usgs.gov

Various frog species have long been used as cell and developmental biology model systems, which makes understanding their genome of particular importance. The first amphibian genome was sequenced in 2010 (Hellsten et al 2010) and the second in 2015 (Sun et al 2015). More recently, Bredeson et al. (2024) reported a high-quality genome assembly for Xenopus tropicalis, which serves as a model for comparative genomics of frogs. Based on short DNA sequencing reads and chromosome conformation capture data, the authors also were able to generated chromosome-scale genome maps for several frog species, notably Eleutherodactylus coqui, Engystomops pustulosus, and Hymenochirus boettgeri. Within chromosomes, they found that the arrangement of genes was conserved across related frog species (i.e., synteny). By comparing gene arrangements across different frog species and performing phylogenetic analysis of interchromosomal rearrangements, they inferred the ancestral genome organization and speed of evolution. And by mapping the 3D genome organization using chromosome conformation capture, the authors were able to rationalize how spatial variation in recombination rates varies across genomes. Given the conservation and stability of the X. tropicalis genome organization, this high-quality genome assembly will help researchers understand genomic variation within anurans, which is crucial for deciphering the molecular basis of development, disease, tissue regeneration, among other non-molecular research questions in this vertebrate model system. (Written by Scott Hansen)

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Current number of amphibian species in our database

As of (Mar 29, 2024)

8,736

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Total Amphibian Species by Order

222 Caecilians 816 Salamanders 7,698 Frogs