FIGURE 1 The Asian Clam (Corbicula fluminea)
The meat of C. fluminea is delicious and nutritious, and thus the clam is considered as a delicacy. It is rich in protein, amino acids, and microelements, and its nutritional value has been well studied (Zhao, & Liu, 2010; Zhuang, & Song, 2009). According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, the Asian Clam has medicinal applications of detumescence, dehumidification, sobering up, and benefits to the liver. Modern research has found that the extracts of the clam can protect against liver damage and reduce blood lipids (Chin, Chien, & Gow, 2010; Peng, et al., 2008). The proteins in the clam can be hydrolyzed into peptides and amino acids using proteases (Wu, & Sun, 2007). Using modern enzymolysis technology for hydrolysis, various natural products that have hepato-protective, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidant, and anti-hypertensive properties can be obtained. At present, the utilization of Asian Clam resources mainly involves fresh, dried, and canned food. As a traditional Chinese medicine, the Asian Clam is underdeveloped. For example, Japan and South Korea import tens of thousands of tons of clams to China every year for deep processing into health care drugs such as sobering agents and liver-protecting drugs (Zhang, 1996). Compared with Japan and South Korea, the deep processing ability for the Asian Clam in China is relatively backward, resulting in its economic and medicinal value not being fully exploited (Wang, & Liu, 2010).
Deciphering the genome of C. fluminea is the most basic step in our research program. The acquisition of a high-quality genome may provide more detailed insights into the value of C. fluminea . During the past decade, whole-genome sequencing has been widely performed on a number of bivalves due to the rapid development of third-generation sequencing (Sun, et al., 2017; Yan, et al., 2019). The lack of a complete genome was the motivation for a de novo genome sequencing of C. fluminea . In this study, we utilized PacBio and Hi-C technology to successfully assemble a chromosomal-level genome (2n = 36). The effective genome information, including chromosomes, genes, and repeat sequence distributions, is displayed in a circle diagram (Figure 2). This genome provides the foundation for a range of development and breeding studies of C. fluminea in future research.