University of Rochester, Department of Biology, Rochester, NY, USA.
College of Advanced Agriculture Science, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Sci Data. 2024 Aug 28;11(1):934. doi: 10.1038/s41597-024-03808-w.
Twisted-wing insects (Strepsiptera) are an enigmatic order of parasites with unusual life histories and striking sexual dimorphism. Males emerge from hosts as free-living winged adults, while females from most species remain as endoparasites that retain larval traits. Due to scarce genomic data and phylogenetic controversies, Strepsiptera was only recently placed as the closest living relative to beetles (Coleoptera). Here, we report the first PacBio HiFi genome assembly of the strepsipteran Xenos peckii (Xenidae). This de novo assembly size is 72.1 Mb, with a BUSCO score of 87.4%, N50 of 7.3 Mb, 23.4% GC content, and 38.41% repeat content. We identified 8 contigs that contain >75% of the assembly and reflect the haploid chromosome number reported from karyotypic data, and 3 contigs that exhibit sex chromosome coverage patterns. Additionally, the mitochondrial genome is 16,111 bp long and has 37 genes. This long-read assembly for Strepsiptera reveals a miniature genome and provides a unique tool to understand complex genome evolution associated with a parasitic lifestyle and extreme sexual dimorphism.
扭翅目昆虫（Strepsiptera）是一类具有独特生活史和显著性别二态性的寄生性昆虫，它们非常神秘。雄性从宿主中以自由生活的有翅成虫形式出现，而大多数物种的雌性则作为内寄生体保留幼虫特征。由于基因组数据稀缺和系统发育争议，扭翅目昆虫最近才被确定为与甲虫（鞘翅目）最接近的现存近亲。在这里，我们报告了第一个 Xenidae 属的扭翅目昆虫 Xenos peckii 的 PacBio HiFi 基因组组装。该从头组装的大小为 72.1 Mb，具有 87.4% 的 BUSCO 评分、7.3 Mb 的 N50、23.4% 的 GC 含量和 38.41% 的重复含量。我们鉴定了 8 个包含>75%组装体的 contigs，反映了核型数据报告的单倍体染色体数，还有 3 个 contigs 显示了性染色体覆盖模式。此外，线粒体基因组长 16,111 bp，包含 37 个基因。该扭翅目昆虫的长读长组装揭示了一个微型基因组，并为理解与寄生生活方式和极端性别二态性相关的复杂基因组进化提供了独特的工具。
