Improved high-quality reference genome of red drum (<i>Sciaenops ocellatus</i>)

Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) is among the most important artificially introduced farmed fish across 11 countries and regions. However, the frequent occurrence of extreme weather events and breeding escapes have placed great pressure on local marine biodiversity and ecosystems. A complete and accurate reference genome and annotation would provide fundamental resources for functional genomics and environmental adaptation genetics assessment.