A Chromosome-Scale and Annotated Reference Genome Assembly of Plecia longiforceps Duda, 1934 (Diptera: Bibionidae)

Abstract

Urbanization is a leading factor effecting global biodiversity, driving rapid evolutionary processes in the local biota. Species that adapt and proliferate in city environments can become pests, with human activities facilitating their dispersal and excessive outbreaks. Here we present the first genome data of Plecia longiforceps, a lovebug pest in Eastern Asia with intensive aggregations recently occurring in the Seoul Metropolitan Area of Korea. PacBio HiFi and ONT Pore-C sequencing data were used to construct a highly continuous assembly with a total size of 707Mb and 8 major pseudochromosomes, its integrity supported by the N50 length of 98.1Mb and 96.8% BUSCO completeness. Structural and functional annotation using transcriptome data and ab initio predictions revealed a high proportion (69.3%) of repeat sequences, and synteny analysis with Bibio marci showed high levels of genomic collinearity. The genome will serve as an essential resource for both population genomics and molecular research on lovebug dispersal and outbreaks, and also implement studies on the eco-evolutionary processes of insects in urbanizing habitats.