The beadlet anemone Actinia equina (L.) (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Actiniaria: Actiniidae) is one of the most familiar organisms of the North European intertidal zone. Once considered a single, morphologically variable species across northern Europe, it is now recognised as one member of a variable species complex. Previous studies of distribution, aggression, allozymes and mitochondrial DNA suggest that the diversity in form and colour within A. equina may hide still unrecognised species diversity. To empower further study of A. equina population genetics and systematics, we sequenced (PacBio Sequel) the genome of a single A. equina individual to produce a high-quality genome assembly (contig N₅₀ = 492,607 bp, 1485 contigs, number of protein coding genes = 47,671, 97% BUSCO completeness). There is debate as to whether A. equina reproduces solely asexually, since no reliable, consistent evidence of sexual reproduction has been found. To gain further insight, we examined the genome for evidence of a ‘meiotic toolkit’ – genes believed to be found consistently in sexually reproducing organisms – and demonstrate that the A. equina genome appears not to have this full complement. Additionally, Smudgeplot analysis, coupled with high haplotype diversity, indicates this genome assembly to be of ambiguous ploidy, suggesting that A. equina may not be diploid. The suggested polyploid nature of this species coupled with the deficiency in meiotic toolkit genes, indicates that further field and laboratory studies of this species is warranted to understand how this species reproduces and what role ploidy may play in speciation within this speciose genus.

小珠银莲花海葵放线虫（Cindaria：Anthozoa：Actiniaria：Actiniidae）是北欧潮间带最常见的生物之一。北欧曾经被认为是一个形态上可变的物种，现在被认为是可变物种复合体的一个成员。的分布，侵略，等位酶和线粒体DNA以往的研究表明，内形式和色彩的多样性A.马尾可能隐藏仍无法识别的物种多样性。为了进一步研究马马种群遗传学和系统学，我们对单个马马个体的基因组进行了测序（PacBio Sequel），以产生高质量的基因组装配体（contig N ₅₀ ＝ 492,607 bp，1485个重叠群，蛋白质编码基因的数目＝ 47,671，BUSCO完整性为97％）。有争论是否A.马尾再现仅仅无性，因为有性繁殖的不可靠，一致的证据已被发现。为了获得更多的见解，我们检查了基因组，以寻找“减数分裂工具包”的证据-认为在有性生殖生物中始终存在的基因-并证明马链球菌基因组似乎没有这种完整的补体。另外，Smudgeplot分析与高单倍型多样性相结合，表明该基因组装配具有不明确的倍性，表明马A.可能不是二倍体。该物种的多倍体性质与减数分裂工具包基因的缺乏相结合，表明有必要对该物种进行进一步的田间和实验室研究，以了解该物种的繁殖方式以及倍性可能在该特定属中的物种形成中发挥什么作用。