A high-quality reference genome for the Ural Owl ( Strix uralensis ) enables investigations of cell cultures as a genomic resource for endangered species

We generated a reference genome for the Ural Owl ( Strix uralensis ) based on high-fidelity (HiFi) long reads and chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) data. The primary assembly had a size of 1.38 gigabase pairs (Gb), while the alternative assembly (i.e., the second haplotype) had a size of 1.3 Gb. The corresponding N50 was 90.1 Mb for the primary assembly and 17.0 Mb for the alternate assembly. The primary assembly achieved a compleasm BUSCO completeness of 99.94%, indicative of a high-quality genome. In addition, cell culture of progressive passages was evaluated as a tool for genetic resources. To this aim, a cell culture of the same Ural Owl individual was established from skin tissue. At passages 5 and 10, cells were harvested and investigated for possible nucleotide variants by analysing the karyotype and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to investigate the effect of cell culture on mutation. Karyotyping confirmed the number of chromosomes and no large variants were observed, while SNP analysis revealed a minor presence of short variants over cell passages. The established reference genome is a valuable resource for ongoing conservation efforts but also generally for avian genomics research. Cell culture, on the other hand, requires more research to determine if progressive passages can be safely used in genomic research.