With collaboration with colleagues in Fujian Fisheries Research Institute in China, the former postdoc Zongji Wang of Qi Zhou’s group published a chromosome-level of big-belly seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis. Seahorse, seadragon and pipefish all belong to the teleost family Syngnathidae that evolved unique male pregnancy reproductive behaviors. Males of seahorse species develop brood pouch, into which females deposit the eggs. The embryos then are nurtured by the males until they are hatched as free-swimming fry. The newly generated genome will help the scientists to understand the genetic basis of such unique trait and a very different body plan of seahorse compared to other teleosts.
