Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
G3 (Bethesda). 2021 Jan 18;11(1). doi: 10.1093/g3journal/jkaa047.
The tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, is a lepidopteran insect that is used extensively as a model system for studying insect biology, development, neuroscience, and immunity. However, current studies rely on the highly fragmented reference genome Msex_1.0, which was created using now-outdated technologies and is hindered by a variety of deficiencies and inaccuracies. We present a new reference genome for M. sexta, JHU_Msex_v1.0, applying a combination of modern technologies in a de novo assembly to increase continuity, accuracy, and completeness. The assembly is 470 Mb and is ∼20× more continuous than the original assembly, with scaffold N50 > 14 Mb. We annotated the assembly by lifting over existing annotations and supplementing with additional supporting RNA-based data for a total of 25,256 genes. The new reference assembly is accessible in annotated form for public use. We demonstrate that improved continuity of the M. sexta genome improves resequencing studies and benefits future research on M. sexta as a model organism.
烟草天蛾（Manduca sexta）是鳞翅目昆虫，被广泛用作研究昆虫生物学、发育、神经科学和免疫的模式系统。然而，目前的研究依赖于高度碎片化的参考基因组 Msex_1.0，该基因组是使用现已过时的技术创建的，存在各种缺陷和不准确之处。我们提出了一个新的 M. sexta 参考基因组 JHU_Msex_v1.0，应用了一系列现代技术进行从头组装，以提高连续性、准确性和完整性。该组装体大小为 470Mb，比原始组装体连续性提高了约 20 倍，支架 N50>14Mb。我们通过转座现有注释并补充额外的基于 RNA 的数据来注释该组装体，总共注释了 25256 个基因。新的参考组装体以注释形式供公众使用。我们证明，M. sexta 基因组连续性的提高改善了重测序研究，并有助于未来将 M. sexta 作为模式生物进行研究。
