The genetic adaptations of Toxoptera aurantii facilitated its rapid multiple plant hosts dispersal and invasion

• Published in: Genomics (San Diego, Calif.) Calif.), 2022-11, Vol.114 (6), p.110472-110472, Article 110472
• Main Authors: Wang, Yan-xia, Chen, Hu-fang, Yin, Zheng-yan, Chen, Wen-long, Lu, Li-tang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aphids - classification; Aphids - genetics; Chromosome-level genome; Comparative genomics; Phylogeny; Plants - parasitology; Toxoptera aurantii; Wing development
• ISSN: 0888-7543; 1089-8646
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2022.110472

Toxoptera aurantii Boyer de Fonscolombe (Hemiptera: Aphididae) can attack many plant hosts, including tea (Camellia sinensis L.), citrus (Citrus spp.), lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.), banana (Musa spp.), and pineapple (Ananas comasus L.) among others. It is a widely distributed hexapod and one of the most destructive pests in tea plantations, causing enormous economic losses in tea production each year. A high-quality reference genome is important to study the phylogenetics and evolution of T. aurantii because its genome is highly heterozygous and repetitive. We obtained a de novo genome assembly of T. aurantii at the chromosome level using a combination of long Nanopore reads from sequencing with high-throughput chromosome conformation capture technology. When finally assembled, the genome was 318.95 Mb on four chromosomes with a 15.19 Mb scaffold N50. A total of 12,162 genes encoded proteins, while there were 22.01% repetitive sequences that totaled 67.73 Mb. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that T. aurantii and Aphis gossypii parted ways approximately 7.6 million years ago (Mya). We used a combination of long-read single-molecule sequencing with Hi-C–based chromatin interaction maps that resulted in a reference chromosomal level reference genome of T. aurantii that was high quality. Our results will enable the exploration of the genetics behind the special biological features of T. aurantii and also provide a source of data that should be useful to compare the compare genome among the Hemiptera. •This is the first assembly of Toxoptera aurantii that yielded chromosome-level scaffolds of Toxoptera aurantii.•Gene families that are specific to Toxoptera aurantii are highly enriched in the process of binding compounds affect molecular functions.•The expression of Ubx and Antp genes may inhibit the formation of insect wings.