Myodes glareolus isolate:2345 Genome sequencing
The increasing availability of high-quality reference genomes for nontraditional model species is improving our ability to answer a variety of pressing questions in biology, including ecology and evolution, with a precision that until recently was possible only with major model organisms. Here we present the first complete genome assembly at the chromosome level for one such non-model model mammal species - the bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus (also known as Myodes glareolus). The bank vole is a widespread cricetid rodent that occurs in forests and various scrub habitats throughout much of Europe and we have recently reviewed how the bank vole has provides important new insights into the patterns and processes associated with response of temperate species to climate change at the end of the last glaciation in Europe, including the genetic and physiological basis for evolutionary adaptation. Studying such patterns and processes in various species is important for both understanding the origin of the present biodiversity and predicting the potential response of organisms to future climate change. The availability of the reference genome allows resequencing of bank voles from different lineages and populations spanning climatic gradients (e.g., latitude). Furthermore, we anticipate that increasing integration of genomic data with other data types (e.g., ecological, functional, and fitness data) will expand system-wide knowledge of the bank vole. This is important for the development of the bank vole as a model species not only for evolutionary and ecological studies, but also for other research areas such as rodent-borne zoonotic parasites and pathogens.