Chao Wu1,2, Lei Zhang2, Bo Liu2, Bojia Gao2, Cong Huang2, Ji Zhang2, Minghui Jin2, Hanyue Wang2, Yan Peng2, Annabel Rice1, Esmat Hegazi3, Kenneth Wilson4,5, Pengjun Xu6,7, Yutao Xiao8,9. 1. Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK. 2. Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture; Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China. 3. Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture Alexandria University, Alexandria, 22542, Egypt. 4. Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK. ken.wilson@lancaster.ac.uk. 5. Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture; Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China. ken.wilson@lancaster.ac.uk. 6. Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK. xupengjun@caas.cn. 7. Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China. xupengjun@caas.cn. 8. Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK. xiaoyutao@caas.cn. 9. Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture; Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China. xiaoyutao@caas.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis, is a highly polyphagous pest of many cultivated plants and crops in Africa and Europe. The genome of this pest will help us to further understand the molecular mechanisms of polyphagy. RESULTS: Herein, the high-quality genome of S. littoralis was obtained by Pacific Bioscience (PacBio) sequencing. The assembled genome size of S. littoralis is 436.55 Mb with a scaffold N50 of 6.09 Mb, consisting of 17,207 annotated protein-coding genes. Phylogenetic analysis shows that S. littoralis and its sibling species S. litura diverged about 5.44 million years ago. Expanded gene families were mainly involved in metabolic detoxification and tolerance to toxic xenobiotics based on GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway analysis. Comparative genomics analysis showed that gene families involved in detoxification and chemosensation were significantly expanded in S. littoralis, representing genetic characteristics related to polyphagy and an extensive host range. CONCLUSIONS: We assembled and annotated the reference genome of S. littoralis, and revealed that this pest has the genetic features of strong detoxification capacity, consistent with it being a significant risk to a wide range of host crops. These data resources will provide support for risk assessment and early warning monitoring of major polyphagous agricultural pests.
BACKGROUND: The cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis, is a highly polyphagous pest of many cultivated plants and crops in Africa and Europe. The genome of this pest will help us to further understand the molecular mechanisms of polyphagy. RESULTS: Herein, the high-quality genome of S. littoralis was obtained by Pacific Bioscience (PacBio) sequencing. The assembled genome size of S. littoralis is 436.55 Mb with a scaffold N50 of 6.09 Mb, consisting of 17,207 annotated protein-coding genes. Phylogenetic analysis shows that S. littoralis and its sibling species S. litura diverged about 5.44 million years ago. Expanded gene families were mainly involved in metabolic detoxification and tolerance to toxic xenobiotics based on GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway analysis. Comparative genomics analysis showed that gene families involved in detoxification and chemosensation were significantly expanded in S. littoralis, representing genetic characteristics related to polyphagy and an extensive host range. CONCLUSIONS: We assembled and annotated the reference genome of S. littoralis, and revealed that this pest has the genetic features of strong detoxification capacity, consistent with it being a significant risk to a wide range of host crops. These data resources will provide support for risk assessment and early warning monitoring of major polyphagous agricultural pests.
Authors: Mihaela Pertea; Geo M Pertea; Corina M Antonescu; Tsung-Cheng Chang; Joshua T Mendell; Steven L Salzberg Journal: Nat Biotechnol Date: 2015-02-18 Impact factor: 54.908