The chromosomal genome sequence of the lettuce sea slug, Elysia crispata (Mörch, 1863) (Plakobranchidae) and its associated microbial metagenome sequences

Michael Middlebrooks; Jose Victor Lopez; Nicholas Curtis; Patrick J. Krug; John Pettingill; Nina Pruzinsky; Graeme Oatley; Elizabeth Sinclair; Eerik Aunin; Noah Gettle; Camilla Santos; Michael Paulini; Haoyu Niu; Victoria McKenna; Rebecca O’Brien

doi:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.26088.1

The chromosomal genome sequence of the lettuce sea slug, Elysia crispata (Mörch, 1863) (Plakobranchidae) and its associated microbial metagenome sequences

Michael Middlebrooks
, Jose Victor Lopez
, Nicholas Curtis
, Patrick J. Krug
, John Pettingill
, Nina Pruzinsky
, Graeme Oatley
, Elizabeth Sinclair
, Eerik Aunin
, Noah Gettle
, Camilla Santos
, Michael Paulini
, Haoyu Niu
, Victoria McKenna
, Rebecca O’Brien

Department of Biological Sciences

Research output: Working paper › Preprint

Abstract

We present a genome assembly from from a specimen of the clarki ecotype of an individual specimen of the lettuce sea slug Elysia crispata (lettuce sea slug; Mollusca; Gastropoda; Plakobranchidae). The genome sequence has a total length of 542.56 megabases. Most of the assembly (87.52%) is scaffolded into 15 chromosomal pseudomolecules. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 14.17 kilobases. Additionally, we sequenced the chloroplast genomes of two dietary algae, Penicillus capitatus and P. lamourouxii, from plastids sequestered inside of slug cells where they remain photosynthetically active. Gene annotation of this assembly by Ensembl identified 18 436 protein-coding genes. From the metagenome data, we recovered six bins, of which four were high-quality MAGs.

Original language	English
Publisher	Wellcome Trust
Pages	148
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.26088.1
State	Published - Feb 23 2026

Publication series

Name	Wellcome Open Research
Publisher	F1000 Research Ltd
ISSN (Print)	2398-502X

Funding

This work was funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through a grant (GBMF8897) to the Wellcome Sanger Institute to support the Aquatic Symbiosis Genomics Project, and by Wellcome through core funding to the Wellcome Sanger Institute (220540). Support was also provided by NSF awards IOS-2437002 and IOS-2127110 to PJK.

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10.12688/wellcomeopenres.26088.1License: CC BY

Cite this

Middlebrooks, M., Lopez, J. V., Curtis, N., Krug, P. J., Pettingill, J., Pruzinsky, N., Oatley, G., Sinclair, E., Aunin, E., Gettle, N., Santos, C., Paulini, M., Niu, H., McKenna, V., & O’Brien, R. (2026). The chromosomal genome sequence of the lettuce sea slug, Elysia crispata (Mörch, 1863) (Plakobranchidae) and its associated microbial metagenome sequences. (pp. 148). (Wellcome Open Research). Wellcome Trust. https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.26088.1

Middlebrooks, M, Lopez, JV, Curtis, N, Krug, PJ, Pettingill, J, Pruzinsky, N, Oatley, G, Sinclair, E, Aunin, E, Gettle, N, Santos, C, Paulini, M, Niu, H, McKenna, V & O’Brien, R 2026 'The chromosomal genome sequence of the lettuce sea slug, Elysia crispata (Mörch, 1863) (Plakobranchidae) and its associated microbial metagenome sequences' Wellcome Open Research, Wellcome Trust, pp. 148. https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.26088.1

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title = "The chromosomal genome sequence of the lettuce sea slug, Elysia crispata (M{\"o}rch, 1863) (Plakobranchidae) and its associated microbial metagenome sequences",

abstract = "We present a genome assembly from from a specimen of the clarki ecotype of an individual specimen of the lettuce sea slug Elysia crispata (lettuce sea slug; Mollusca; Gastropoda; Plakobranchidae). The genome sequence has a total length of 542.56 megabases. Most of the assembly (87.52\%) is scaffolded into 15 chromosomal pseudomolecules. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 14.17 kilobases. Additionally, we sequenced the chloroplast genomes of two dietary algae, Penicillus capitatus and P. lamourouxii, from plastids sequestered inside of slug cells where they remain photosynthetically active. Gene annotation of this assembly by Ensembl identified 18 436 protein-coding genes. From the metagenome data, we recovered six bins, of which four were high-quality MAGs.",

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AU - Krug, Patrick J.

AU - Pettingill, John

AU - Pruzinsky, Nina

AU - Oatley, Graeme

AU - Sinclair, Elizabeth

AU - Aunin, Eerik

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AB - We present a genome assembly from from a specimen of the clarki ecotype of an individual specimen of the lettuce sea slug Elysia crispata (lettuce sea slug; Mollusca; Gastropoda; Plakobranchidae). The genome sequence has a total length of 542.56 megabases. Most of the assembly (87.52%) is scaffolded into 15 chromosomal pseudomolecules. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 14.17 kilobases. Additionally, we sequenced the chloroplast genomes of two dietary algae, Penicillus capitatus and P. lamourouxii, from plastids sequestered inside of slug cells where they remain photosynthetically active. Gene annotation of this assembly by Ensembl identified 18 436 protein-coding genes. From the metagenome data, we recovered six bins, of which four were high-quality MAGs.

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BT - The chromosomal genome sequence of the lettuce sea slug, Elysia crispata (Mörch, 1863) (Plakobranchidae) and its associated microbial metagenome sequences

PB - Wellcome Trust

ER -

The chromosomal genome sequence of the lettuce sea slug, Elysia crispata (Mörch, 1863) (Plakobranchidae) and its associated microbial metagenome sequences

Abstract

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