Chromosome-level genomes of hard clams Meretrix lamarckii (Deshayes, 1853) and Meretrix meretrix (Linnaeus, 1758)

Sean Tsz Sum Law; Wenyan Nong; Ming Fung Franco Au; Leni Hiu Tung Cheung; Cheryl Wood Yee Shum; Shing Yip Lee; Siu Gin Cheung; Jerome Ho Lam Hui

doi:10.1038/s41597-026-07119-0

Chromosome-level genomes of hard clams Meretrix lamarckii (Deshayes, 1853) and Meretrix meretrix (Linnaeus, 1758)

Sean Tsz Sum Law (Co-first Author)
, Wenyan Nong (Co-first Author)
, Ming Fung Franco Au
, Leni Hiu Tung Cheung
, Cheryl Wood Yee Shum
, Shing Yip Lee^*
, Siu Gin Cheung^*
, Jerome Ho Lam Hui^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

2 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

The genus Meretrix contains marine bivalve molluscs commonly known as the Venus clams or hard clams, which can be found in the estuarine and marine habitats in Asia. Given their edibility, they have been exploited in clam digging activities and also been farmed in some places. Here, we provide two new high-quality genomes of species M. meretrix and M. lamarckii. Utilising a combination of PacBio HiFi and Omni-C sequencing technologies, genome assemblies of M. meretrix and M. lamarcki are obtained with sizes 835.1 Mb (scaffold N50 = 46 Mb) and 890.5 Mb (scaffold N50 = 46 Mb), respectively. More than 99% of sequences were anchored to 19 pseudochromosomes, and high completeness was also obtained estimated by BUSCO scores (~99.5%, mollusca_odb12). The two new genomic resources provided in this study will be useful for further understanding biology, ecology, and evolution of edible clams. © The Author(s) 2026.

Original language	English
Article number	760
Number of pages	9
Journal	Scientific Data
Volume	13
Online published	27 Mar 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07119-0
Publication status	Published - 2026

Funding

This work was supported by Lantau Conservation Fund (RE-2020-39), Hong Kong Research Grant Council Collaborative Research Fund (C4015-20EF), Innovation Technology Fund of Innovation Technology Commission: Funding Support to State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, and Direct Grant of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 14 Life Below Water

Publisher's Copyright Statement

This full text is made available under CC-BY 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

RGC Funding Information

RGC-funded

Access Output

10.1038/s41597-026-07119-0

491124335.pdfFinal Published version, 3.27 MBLicence: CC BY

Other Access Options

Check CityUHK Library

Permanent Link

Right click to copy link

Cite this

@article{f6ac7117fd02472db9616bc69fda8e67,

title = "Chromosome-level genomes of hard clams Meretrix lamarckii (Deshayes, 1853) and Meretrix meretrix (Linnaeus, 1758)",

abstract = "The genus Meretrix contains marine bivalve molluscs commonly known as the Venus clams or hard clams, which can be found in the estuarine and marine habitats in Asia. Given their edibility, they have been exploited in clam digging activities and also been farmed in some places. Here, we provide two new high-quality genomes of species M. meretrix and M. lamarckii. Utilising a combination of PacBio HiFi and Omni-C sequencing technologies, genome assemblies of M. meretrix and M. lamarcki are obtained with sizes 835.1 Mb (scaffold N50 = 46 Mb) and 890.5 Mb (scaffold N50 = 46 Mb), respectively. More than 99\% of sequences were anchored to 19 pseudochromosomes, and high completeness was also obtained estimated by BUSCO scores (\textasciitilde{}99.5\%, mollusca\_odb12). The two new genomic resources provided in this study will be useful for further understanding biology, ecology, and evolution of edible clams. {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2026.",

author = "Law, \{Sean Tsz Sum\} and Wenyan Nong and Au, \{Ming Fung Franco\} and Cheung, \{Leni Hiu Tung\} and Shum, \{Cheryl Wood Yee\} and Lee, \{Shing Yip\} and Cheung, \{Siu Gin\} and Hui, \{Jerome Ho Lam\}",

year = "2026",

doi = "10.1038/s41597-026-07119-0",

language = "English",

volume = "13",

journal = "Scientific Data",

issn = "2052-4463",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Chromosome-level genomes of hard clams Meretrix lamarckii (Deshayes, 1853) and Meretrix meretrix (Linnaeus, 1758)

AU - Law, Sean Tsz Sum

AU - Nong, Wenyan

AU - Au, Ming Fung Franco

AU - Cheung, Leni Hiu Tung

AU - Shum, Cheryl Wood Yee

AU - Lee, Shing Yip

AU - Cheung, Siu Gin

AU - Hui, Jerome Ho Lam

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - The genus Meretrix contains marine bivalve molluscs commonly known as the Venus clams or hard clams, which can be found in the estuarine and marine habitats in Asia. Given their edibility, they have been exploited in clam digging activities and also been farmed in some places. Here, we provide two new high-quality genomes of species M. meretrix and M. lamarckii. Utilising a combination of PacBio HiFi and Omni-C sequencing technologies, genome assemblies of M. meretrix and M. lamarcki are obtained with sizes 835.1 Mb (scaffold N50 = 46 Mb) and 890.5 Mb (scaffold N50 = 46 Mb), respectively. More than 99% of sequences were anchored to 19 pseudochromosomes, and high completeness was also obtained estimated by BUSCO scores (~99.5%, mollusca_odb12). The two new genomic resources provided in this study will be useful for further understanding biology, ecology, and evolution of edible clams. © The Author(s) 2026.

AB - The genus Meretrix contains marine bivalve molluscs commonly known as the Venus clams or hard clams, which can be found in the estuarine and marine habitats in Asia. Given their edibility, they have been exploited in clam digging activities and also been farmed in some places. Here, we provide two new high-quality genomes of species M. meretrix and M. lamarckii. Utilising a combination of PacBio HiFi and Omni-C sequencing technologies, genome assemblies of M. meretrix and M. lamarcki are obtained with sizes 835.1 Mb (scaffold N50 = 46 Mb) and 890.5 Mb (scaffold N50 = 46 Mb), respectively. More than 99% of sequences were anchored to 19 pseudochromosomes, and high completeness was also obtained estimated by BUSCO scores (~99.5%, mollusca_odb12). The two new genomic resources provided in this study will be useful for further understanding biology, ecology, and evolution of edible clams. © The Author(s) 2026.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105039586897

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105039586897#tab=impact

U2 - 10.1038/s41597-026-07119-0

DO - 10.1038/s41597-026-07119-0

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

C2 - 41896227

SN - 2052-4463

VL - 13

JO - Scientific Data

JF - Scientific Data

M1 - 760

ER -

Chromosome-level genomes of hard clams Meretrix lamarckii (Deshayes, 1853) and Meretrix meretrix (Linnaeus, 1758)

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Publisher's Copyright Statement

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Fingerprint

Cite this