Bracon brevicornis Genome Showcases the Potential of Linked-Read Sequencing in Identifying a Putative Complementary Sex Determiner Gene.

Kim B Ferguson,Joost Van Den Heuvel,Bas J Zwaan,Frank F M Becker,Andra Thiel,Alejandra Centurión,Bart A Pannebakker,Eveline C Verhulst,Elio Schijlen,Ronald Nieuwenhuis

doi:10.3390/genes11121390

Kim B Ferguson, Joost Van Den Heuvel + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/genes11121390

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Journal: Genes	Publication Date: Nov 24, 2020
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Wageningen University & Research, University of Bremen

Abstract

Bracon brevicornis is an ectoparasitoid of a wide range of larval-stage Lepidopterans, including several pests of important crops, such as the corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis. It is also one of the earliest documented cases of complementary sex determination in Hymenoptera. Here, we present the linked-read-based genome of B. brevicornis, complete with an ab initio-derived annotation and protein comparisons with fellow braconids, Fopius arisanus and Diachasma alloeum. We demonstrate the potential of linked-read assemblies in exploring regions of heterozygosity and search for structural and homology-derived evidence of the complementary sex determiner gene (csd).

Highlights

Bracon brevicornis (Wesmael) is a gregarious ectoparasitoid of various Lepidoptera larvae, including many important pests, and is considered a cosmopolitan species [1,2]
A total of 172 ng of B. brevicornis DNA was extracted, which was reduced to 1 ng/μL for library preparation
Sequencing of the Heinz diluted library resulted in a total yield of 54 Gbp of data

Summary

Introduction

Bracon brevicornis (Wesmael) is a gregarious ectoparasitoid of various Lepidoptera larvae, including many important pests, and is considered a cosmopolitan species [1,2]. B. brevicornis has shown potential as a biological control agent against important pest species in stored corn stalks, such as Ostrinia nubilalis and Sesamia cretica [7], or against the coconut moth, Opisinia arenosella [2]. Work on B. brevicornis has included both laboratory and semi-field set-ups to determine both its efficacy as a biological control agent as well as its suitability as a study system. There are several studies on the biology of B. brevicornis, including on population growth potential [9], their host range [8], interspecific competition [2], clutch size and fitness [10], mate choice [11,12], diet [1], and efficacy [7]

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