Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Key Laboratory of Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Technology in Animal Disease, Hohhot, China.
Mol Ecol Resour. 2022 Oct;22(7):2744-2757. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.13654. Epub 2022 Jun 18.
Wohlfahrtia magnifica is a pest fly species, invading livestock in many European, African and Asian countries, and causing heavy agroeconomic losses. In the life cycle of this obligatory parasite, adult flies infect the host by depositing the first-stage larvae into body cavities or open wounds. The feeding larvae cause severe (skin) tissue damage and potentially fatal infections if untreated. Despite serious health detriments and agroeconomic concerns, genomic resources for understanding the biology of W. magnifica have so far been lacking. Here, we present a complete genome assembly from a single adult female W. magnifica using a Low-DNA Input workflow for PacBio HiFi library preparation. The de novo assembled genome is 753.99 Mb in length, with a scaffold N50 of 5.00 Mb, consisting of 16,718 predicted protein-encoding genes. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that W. magnifica has the closest phylogenetic relationship to Sarcophaga bullata followed by Lucilia cuprina. Evolutionary analysis of gene families showed expansions of 173 gene families in W. magnifica that were enriched for gene ontology (GO) categories related to immunity, insecticide-resistance mechanisms, heat stress response and cuticle development. In addition, 45 positively selected genes displaying various functions were identified. This new genomic resource contributes to the evolutionary and comparative analysis of dipterous flies and an in-depth understanding of many aspects of W. magnifica biology. Furthermore, it will facilitate the development of novel tools for controlling W. magnifica infection in livestock.
华丽巨蚊是一种害虫，入侵了许多欧洲、非洲和亚洲国家的牲畜，造成了严重的农业经济损失。在这种专性寄生虫的生命周期中，成年苍蝇通过将第一期幼虫沉积到体腔或开放性伤口中来感染宿主。取食幼虫如果不治疗会导致严重的（皮肤）组织损伤和潜在的致命感染。尽管存在严重的健康危害和农业经济问题，但迄今为止，还缺乏了解华丽巨蚊生物学的基因组资源。在这里，我们使用 PacBio HiFi 文库制备的低 DNA 输入工作流程，从单个成年雌性华丽巨蚊中呈现了一个完整的基因组组装。从头组装的基因组长 753.99 Mb，支架 N50 为 5.00 Mb，包含 16718 个预测的蛋白质编码基因。比较基因组分析表明，华丽巨蚊与 Sarcophaga bullata 的亲缘关系最密切，其次是 Lucilia cuprina。基因家族的进化分析显示，华丽巨蚊有 173 个基因家族的扩张，这些基因家族富集了与免疫、杀虫剂抗性机制、热应激反应和表皮发育相关的基因本体 (GO) 类别。此外，还鉴定了 45 个具有各种功能的正选择基因。这个新的基因组资源有助于双翅目苍蝇的进化和比较分析，并深入了解华丽巨蚊生物学的许多方面。此外，它将有助于开发控制华丽巨蚊感染牲畜的新工具。
