LAUSR

It was reported that Chinese goose breeds are thought to have originated from wild swan geese (Anser cygnoides) (Shi et al., 2006). The wild swan goose, as a migratory waterfowl, has many different characteristics compared to the domestic goose breeds. Most notable is that the wild swan goose has long-distance flight ability. At present, the swan goose has two biological migration routes, namely inland migration routes and coastal migration routes. The majority of swan goose individuals in northeastern Mongolia (Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, and Jilin province) relocated to the Chinese Yangtze River, and the Russian Far East relocated to the coast of southeast China for winter (Zhu et al., 2020). Due to the lack of analysis of the genomic characteristics and selection signals of wild swan geese, the genetic basis underlying these characteristics is still not well investigated. The swan goose has been listed as vulnerable in the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the swan goose’s global population has been estimated at c.60,000–90,000 (http://www.iucnredlist.org/). In China, the wild swan goose has been designated as a Class II national protected species. Therefore, it’s difficult to obtain wild swan goose samples to carry out genomic studies. Xianghai wetland national nature reserve (44°55′–45°09′N, 122°05′–122°31′E), located in the Jilin province (the northeast region of China), was one of the wild swan goose’s habitats. In 1981, the Xianghai wetland national nature reserve was established, and it is the habitat of many protected migratory birds e.g. Grus japonensis, Otis tarda. We are working at the front line of geese breeding in the Xianghai wetland national nature reserve. Our team consists of researchers from Jilin University and Jiuzhou Flying Goose Husbandry&Technology Co., Ltd., which holds a license to domesticate swan geese in the Xianghai Wetlands. In 1999, their farm was established for domesticating and breeding wild swan geese in Yanya lake in the Xianghai wetland national nature reserve. In recent years, we are working on hybrid goose breeding (swan goose × local domestic goose). We are interested in investigating the genetic difference between the wild swan goose and the domestic goose. Considering that sequencing the wild swan goose provides a valuable resource not only for researchers working on animal conservation but also for those focusing on goose genomic breeding and further genomic investigation. With this in mind, we report and make publicly available whole genome sequencing data for 10 wild swan geese. OPEN ACCESS