School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Biodiversity, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Comparative Medicine Disease Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Genome Biol Evol. 2024 Oct 9;16(10). doi: 10.1093/gbe/evae205.
Urbanization is a leading factor effecting global biodiversity, driving rapid evolutionary processes in the local biota. Species that adapt and proliferate in city environments can become pests, with human activities facilitating their dispersal and excessive outbreaks. Here we present the first genome data of Plecia longiforceps, a lovebug pest in Eastern Asia with intensive aggregations recently occurring in the Seoul Metropolitan Area of Korea. PacBio HiFi and ONT Pore-C sequencing data were used to construct a highly continuous assembly with a total size of 707 Mb and 8 major pseudochromosomes, its integrity supported by the N50 length of 98.1 Mb and 96.8% BUSCO completeness. Structural and functional annotation using transcriptome data and ab initio predictions revealed a high proportion (69.3%) of repeat sequences, and synteny analysis with Bibio marci showed high levels of genomic collinearity. The genome will serve as an essential resource for both population genomics and molecular research on lovebug dispersal and outbreaks, and also implement studies on the eco-evolutionary processes of insects in urbanizing habitats.
城市化是影响全球生物多样性的主要因素之一，促使当地生物群发生快速的进化过程。适应和在城市环境中繁殖的物种可能成为害虫，人类活动促进了它们的传播和过度爆发。在这里，我们提供了东亚吸血蝽害虫长红猎蝽的第一个基因组数据，最近在韩国首尔大都市地区密集出现。使用 PacBio HiFi 和 ONT Pore-C 测序数据构建了一个具有总大小为 707Mb 和 8 条主要假染色体的高度连续组装体，其完整性得到了 98.1Mb 的 N50 长度和 96.8% 的 BUSCO 完整性的支持。使用转录组数据和从头预测进行结构和功能注释表明，重复序列的比例很高（69.3%），与 Bibio marci 的共线性分析表明基因组高度同源。该基因组将成为研究吸血蝽传播和爆发的种群基因组学和分子研究的重要资源，也将实施对城市栖息地昆虫生态进化过程的研究。
