ArticleBMC biology2025
Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) and leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) de novo genomes to study the demographic history and genetic diversity of southern seals.
Article in BMC biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Genome assembly and annotation of a deep-diving pinniped, the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris).The Journal of heredity · 2026Article
- ERGA-BGE reference genome of the Mediterranean monk seal (Open research Europe · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Monachinae, or southern seals, are one of two subfamilies within the Phocidae and are home to iconic pinnipeds such as the leopard seal, a fierce Antarctic top predator, and the Mediterranean monk seal, one of the world's most endangered mammals. These two species are difficult to study and sample, due to their hidden lives in extreme environments or, in case of the monk seal, their critically reduced population sizes; consequently, genetic data from these two species is scarce. However, cost developments and advances in genome sequencing have made it possible to generate continuous genome assemblies from DNA of even stranded individuals, allowing to assemble the first reference genomes of such rarely observed species.
resultsIn this study, we have sequenced the genomes of the leopard seal and the Mediterranean monk seal using PacBio's CCS technology to assemble the very first genomes for these species. Four additional Mediterranean monk seal individuals were sequenced using Illumina short-read technology. These data allowed analysis of their demography and genomic diversity based on whole-genome data, confirming low genetic variability and small numbers of individuals for the Mauritanian population of the Mediterranean monk seal. In contrast, the relatively abundant leopard seal shows a high degree of heterozygosity, comparable in the range of other common carnivores.
conclusionsThe first genome assemblies for these seals will lay the groundwork for population-level and other studies to better understand their evolutionary history and biology and to aid conservation efforts.
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