Chromosome-level genome assembly of the Asian spongy moths Lymantria dispar asiatica

Abstract

The Asian spongy moth, Lymantria dispar asiatica, is one of the most devastating forestry defoliators. The absence of a high-quality genome limited the understanding of its adaptive evolution. Here, we conducted the first chromosome-level genome assembly of L. dispar asiatica using PacBio HIFI long reads, Hi-C sequencing reads and transcriptomic data. The total assembly size is 997.59 Mb, containing 32 chromosomes with a GC content of 38.91% and a scaffold N50 length of 35.42 Mb. The BUSCO assessment indicated a completeness estimate of 99.4% for this assembly. A total of 19,532 protein-coding genes was predicted. Our study provides a valuable genomics resource for studying the mechanisms of adaptive evolution and facilitate an efficient control of L. dispar asiatica.