Insights from Seven Sea Turtle Genomes

Sea turtles have existed for over 100 million years, yet their survival today is far from assured. Of the seven living species, three are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered, another three are considered Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the final species—though listed as Data Deficient globally—is recognized as threatened in several regions, including Australia (Arantes et al., 2025). Conservation efforts are now focused on helping these ancient mariners maintain their genomic diversity and resilience in a rapidly changing world.

Across the globe, EBP-affiliated scientists are sequencing biodiversity faster than ever, and with that momentum comes the first in-depth look at all seven sea turtle genomes. The Vertebrate Genomes Project, committed to producing high-quality vertebrate references, released five new chromosome-level assemblies earlier this year. Their expert team has already begun exploring these genomes, uncovering new insights into the evolution and adaptation of these ancient marine reptiles.

“In addition to the insight these reference genomes provide on sea turtle ecology and evolutionary histories, they support a wide array of sea turtle conservation research. Serving as ‘maps’ for population-level data and rapid development of genomic tools for sex determination, aging, and many more applications, they catalyze critical work addressing key knowledge gaps to inform conservation decisions.”

These high-quality assemblies now provide the foundation for comparative genomics, population genetics, and conservation research, enabling tools for sex determination, aging, adaptation studies, and management of threatened populations.