31 August 2026 · Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha

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Molecular Ecology and Evolution Programme, University of Pretoria

The Southern Bald Ibis is a near-threatened southern African species lacking a reference genome. ONT long-read sequencing and a de novo pipeline (trim, filter, assemble, map, polish, haplotig purge, scaffold) produced a 1.218 Gb assembly (464 contigs, N50 25.97 Mb, 99.4% BUSCO). The reference-level genome enables future population and landscape genomics for conservation.

Keywords: Southern Bald Ibis; reference genome; ONT; conservation