A draft Diabrotica virgifera virgifera genome: insights into control and host plant adaption by a major maize pest insect.

Background: Adaptations by arthropod pests to host plant defenses of crops determine their impacts on agricultural production. The larval host range of western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is restricted to maize and a few grasses. Resistance of D.

Legacy of supervolcanic eruptions on population genetic structure of brown kiwi.

Supervolcanoes are volcanoes capable of mega-colossal eruptions that emit more than 1,000 km of ash and other particles. The earth's most recent mega-colossal eruption was the Oruanui eruption of the Taupo supervolcano 25,580 years before present (YBP) on the central North Island of New Zealand. This eruption blanketed major swaths of the North Island in thick layers of ash and igneous rock, devastating habitats and likely causing widespread population extinctions.

Genome size evolution in the beetle genus Diabrotica.

Diabrocite corn rootworms are one of the most economically significant pests of maize in the United States and Europe and an emerging model for insect-plant interactions. Genome sizes of several species in the genus Diabrotica were estimated using flow cytometry along with that of Acalymma vittatum as an outgroup. Genome sizes ranged between 1.

Segmental pairs of dermal secretory cells release proteins into the hemolymph at the larval-pupal molt.

At each molt of Manduca, the large dermal secretory cells expel the protein contents of their vacuoles into the hemocoel. The constellation of proteins expelled at the last larval-pupal molt, however, differs qualitatively from those proteins released at earlier larval-larval molts. Secretory cells at the two stages not only have different lectin staining properties but also have different proteins that separate on two-dimensional gels.

Demographic decline and lineage-specific adaptations characterize New Zealand kiwi.

Small and fragmented populations may become rapidly differentiated due to genetic drift, making it difficult to distinguish whether neutral genetic structure is a signature of recent demographic events, or of long-term evolutionary processes that could have allowed populations to adaptively diverge. We sequenced 52 whole genomes to examine Holocene demographic history and patterns of adaptation in kiwi (), and recovered 11 strongly differentiated genetic clusters corresponding to previously recognized lineages. Demographic models suggest that all 11 lineages experienced dramatic population crashes relative to early- or mid-Holocene levels.

The genomic basis of evolutionary differentiation among honey bees.

In contrast to the western honey bee, , other honey bee species have been largely neglected despite their importance and diversity. The genetic basis of the evolutionary diversification of honey bees remains largely unknown. Here, we provide a genome-wide comparison of three honey bee species, each representing one of the three subgenera of honey bees, namely the dwarf (), giant (), and cavity-nesting () honey bees with bumblebees as an outgroup.

The genome of the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, reveals potential mechanisms underlying reproduction, host interactions, and novel targets for pest control.

Background: The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, is a major blood-feeding pest of livestock that has near worldwide distribution, causing an annual cost of over $2 billion for control and product loss in the USA alone. Control of these flies has been limited to increased sanitary management practices and insecticide application for suppressing larval stages. Few genetic and molecular resources are available to help in developing novel methods for controlling stable flies.

Vertical distribution of prokaryotes communities and predicted metabolic pathways in New Zealand wetlands, and potential for environmental DNA indicators of wetland condition.

Globally, wetlands are in decline due to anthropogenic modification and climate change. Knowledge about the spatial distribution of biodiversity and biological processes within wetlands provides essential baseline data for predicting and mitigating the effects of present and future environmental change on these critical ecosystems. To explore the potential for environmental DNA (eDNA) to provide such insights, we used 16S rRNA metabarcoding to characterise prokaryote communities and predict the distribution of prokaryote metabolic pathways in peats and sediments up to 4m below the surface across seven New Zealand wetlands.

Selective Sweeps in a Nutshell: The Genomic Footprint of Rapid Insecticide Resistance Evolution in the Almond Agroecosystem.

Among the most familiar forms of human-driven evolution on ecological time scales is the rapid acquisition of resistance to pesticides by insects. Since the widespread adoption of synthetic organic insecticides in the mid-twentieth century, over 500 arthropod species have evolved resistance to at least one insecticide. Efforts to determine the genetic bases of insecticide resistance have historically focused on individual loci, but the availability of genomic tools has facilitated the screening of genome-wide characteristics.

Genome-wide variation and transcriptional changes in diverse developmental processes underlie the rapid evolution of seasonal adaptation.

Many organisms enter a dormant state in their life cycle to deal with predictable changes in environments over the course of a year. The timing of dormancy is therefore a key seasonal adaptation, and it evolves rapidly with changing environments. We tested the hypothesis that differences in the timing of seasonal activity are driven by differences in the rate of development during diapause in , a fly specialized to feed on fruits of seasonally limited host plants.

Brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), genome: putative underpinnings of polyphagy, insecticide resistance potential and biology of a top worldwide pest.

Background: 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 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.

The Genome of the Blind Soil-Dwelling and Ancestrally Wingless Dipluran Campodea augens: A Key Reference Hexapod for Studying the Emergence of Insect Innovations.

The dipluran two-pronged bristletail Campodea augens is a blind ancestrally wingless hexapod with the remarkable capacity to regenerate lost body appendages such as its long antennae. As sister group to Insecta (sensu stricto), Diplura are key to understanding the early evolution of hexapods and the origin and evolution of insects. Here we report the 1.

Genome of the Parasitoid Wasp Diachasma alloeum, an Emerging Model for Ecological Speciation and Transitions to Asexual Reproduction.

Parasitoid wasps are among the most speciose animals, yet have relatively few available genomic resources. We report a draft genome assembly of the wasp Diachasma alloeum (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a host-specific parasitoid of the apple maggot fly Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae), and a developing model for understanding how ecological speciation can "cascade" across trophic levels. Identification of gene content confirmed the overall quality of the draft genome, and we manually annotated ∼400 genes as part of this study, including those involved in oxidative phosphorylation, chemosensation, and reproduction.

A hybrid de novo genome assembly of the honeybee, Apis mellifera, with chromosome-length scaffolds.

Background: The ability to generate long sequencing reads and access long-range linkage information is revolutionizing the quality and completeness of genome assemblies. Here we use a hybrid approach that combines data from four genome sequencing and mapping technologies to generate a new genome assembly of the honeybee Apis mellifera. We first generated contigs based on PacBio sequencing libraries, which were then merged with linked-read 10x Chromium data followed by scaffolding using a BioNano optical genome map and a Hi-C chromatin interaction map, complemented by a genetic linkage map.

The chemoreceptors and odorant binding proteins of the soybean and pea aphids.

We examined the genome of the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, and an updated genome assembly of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, for members of the three major families of chemoreceptors, the Odorant Receptors (ORs), Gustatory Receptors (GRs) and Ionotropic Receptors (IRs), as well as the Odorant Binding Proteins (OBPs). The soybean aphid has 47 ORs, 61 GRs, 19 IRs, and 10 OBPs, compared with 87 ORs, 78 Grs, 19 IRs, and 18 OBPs in the pea aphid, with variable numbers of pseudogenes in the OR and GR families. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that while all of the IRs are simple orthologs between these two species, the OR, GR, and OBP families in the pea aphid have experienced major expansions of particular gene lineages and fewer losses of gene lineages.

The genome of the water strider Gerris buenoi reveals expansions of gene repertoires associated with adaptations to life on the water.

Background: Having conquered water surfaces worldwide, the semi-aquatic bugs occupy ponds, streams, lakes, mangroves, and even open oceans. The diversity of this group has inspired a range of scientific studies from ecology and evolution to developmental genetics and hydrodynamics of fluid locomotion. However, the lack of a representative water strider genome hinders our ability to more thoroughly investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the processes of adaptation and diversification within this group.

Improved reference genome of Aedes aegypti informs arbovirus vector control.

Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infect more than 400 million people each year with dangerous viral pathogens including dengue, yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya. Progress in understanding the biology of mosquitoes and developing the tools to fight them has been slowed by the lack of a high-quality genome assembly. Here we combine diverse technologies to produce the markedly improved, fully re-annotated AaegL5 genome assembly, and demonstrate how it accelerates mosquito science.