WaspBase: a genomic resource for the interactions among parasitic wasps, insect hosts and plants

A chromosome-level genome assembly of the parasitoid wasp Pteromalus puparum

Parasitoid wasps represent a large proportion of hymenopteran species. They have complex evolutionary histories and are important biocontrol agents. To advance parasitoid research, a combination of Illumina short-read, PacBio long-read and Hi-C scaffolding technologies was used to develop a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly for Pteromalus puparum, which is an important pupal endoparasitoid of caterpillar pests. The chromosome-level assembly has aided in studies of venom and detoxification genes. The assembled genome size is 338 Mb with a contig N50 of 38.7 kb and a scaffold N50 of 1.16 Mb. Hi-C analysis assembled scaffolds onto five chromosomes and raised the scaffold N50 to 65.8 Mb, with more than 96% of assembled bases located on chromosomes. Gene annotation was assisted by RNA sequencing for the two sexes and four different life stages. Analysis detected 98% of the BUSCO (Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs) gene set, supporting a high-quality assembly and annotation. In total, 40.1% (135.6 Mb) of the assembly is composed of repetitive sequences, and 14,946 protein-coding genes were identified. Although venom genes play important roles in parasitoid biology, their spatial distribution on chromosomes was poorly understood. Mapping has revealed venom gene tandem arrays for serine proteases, pancreatic lipase-related proteins and kynurenine-oxoglutarate transaminases, which have amplified in the P. puparum lineage after divergence from its common ancestor with Nasonia vitripennis. In addition, there is a large expansion of P450 genes in P. puparum. These examples illustrate how chromosome-level genome assembly can provide a valuable resource for molecular, evolutionary and biocontrol studies of parasitoid wasps.