High-Quality, Haplotype-Phased Genome Reconstruction Reveals Unexpected Haplotype Diversity in Economically Important Japanese Pearl Oyster Pinctada fucata; Knowledge May Guide Enhancements of Disease Resistance in Faltering Pearl Industry

Pearl oysters are an important aquaculture animal in Japan, as they produce the beautiful pearls that are sought after for necklaces, earrings, and rings. In the early 1990s, this aquaculture industry was bringing in approximately 88 billion yen (~626 million US dollars) annually. But, in the last 20 years, a combination of new diseases and red tides has seen production of Japan’s pearls drop from around 70,000 kg a year to just 20,000 kg. Now, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), in collaboration with a number of other research institutes including K. MIKIMOTO & CO., LTD, Pearl Research Institute, and Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, have constructed a high-quality, chromosome-scale genome of pearl oysters, which they hope can be used to find resilient strains. The research was published on November 10, 2022 in DNA Research. The open-access article is titled “A High-Quality, Haplotype-Phased Genome Reconstruction Reveals Unexpected Haplotype Diversity in a Pearl Oyster.”