Abstract
BackgroundHalyomorpha halys (Stål), the brown marmorated stink bug, is a highly invasive insect species due in part to its exceptionally high levels of polyphagy. This species is also a nuisance due to overwintering in human-made structures. It has caused significant agricultural losses in recent years along the Atlantic seaboard of North America and in continental Europe. Genomic resources will assist with determining the molecular basis for this species’ feeding and habitat traits, defining potential targets for pest management strategies.ResultsAnalysis of the 1.15-Gb draft genome assembly has identified a wide variety of genetic elements underpinning the biological characteristics of this formidable pest species, encompassing the roles of sensory functions, digestion, immunity, detoxification and development, all of which likely support H. halys’ capacity for invasiveness. Many of the genes identified herein have potential for biomolecular pesticide applications.ConclusionsAvailability of the H. halys genome sequence will be useful for the development of environmentally friendly biomolecular pesticides to be applied in concert with more traditional, synthetic chemical-based controls.
Highlights
Halyomorpha halys (Stål), the brown marmorated stink bug, is a highly invasive insect species due in part to its exceptionally high levels of polyphagy
H. halys showed high levels of completeness both for the genome assembly (96.7%) and the annotated gene set (98.7%), missing only 29 and 13 of the 1,658 Insecta Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO) genes, respectively (Table 1). This was supported by additional quality checks comparing orthologs with four other hemipterans which showed that H. halys has the highest representation in near-universal orthogroups and the lowest numbers of missing orthologs
BUSCO and OrthoDB assessments indicate that the H. halys genomic resource has a high degree of gene content completeness, and the overall high quality of the assembly is corroborated by well-assembled Hox and Iro-C gene clusters, in addition to two independent contamination screens
Summary
Halyomorpha halys (Stål), the brown marmorated stink bug, is a highly invasive insect species due in part to its exceptionally high levels of polyphagy This species is a nuisance due to overwintering in humanmade structures. Introduced outside its native range, H. halys has become established in North America (Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States, mid-1990s), Europe (Zurich, Switzerland, 2007) and South America (Santiago, Chile, 2017) [1]; it has been detected yet eradicated multiple times in Australia [2] In regions where it has established, H. halys’ high dispersal capacity, polyphagy (at least 170 plant species) and ability to compete with endemic species have assisted its spread (reviewed in [3]). H. halys is a nuisance pest, well known for its invasion of human structures such as houses, schools and other indoor spaces in large numbers when it overwinters [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
