Published August 26, 2020 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Improved reference genome of the arboviral vector Aedes albopictus

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, Pavia, 27100, Italy
  • 2. Department of Entomology and the Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
  • 3. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511-8934, USA
  • 4. Genome Informatics Section, Computational and Statistical Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892-2152, MD, USA
  • 5. National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20894, MD, USA
  • 6. Department of Entomology, Robert H Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
  • 7. Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
  • 8. Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  • 9. Verily Life Sciences, South San Francisco, 94080, CA, USA
  • 10. Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
  • 11. Department of Virology, Arbovirus and Insect Vectors Units, Institut Pasteur, Paris, 75015, France
  • 12. Laboratory of Evolutionary Genomics of Insects, The Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
  • 13. Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0349, USA

Description

Background: The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is globally expanding and has become the main vector for human arboviruses in Europe. With limited antiviral drugs and vaccines available, vector control is the primary approach to prevent mosquito-borne diseases. A reliable and accurate DNA sequence of the Ae. albopictus genome is essential to develop new approaches that involve genetic manipulation of mosquitoes.

Results: We use long-read sequencing methods and modern scaffolding techniques (PacBio, 10X, and Hi-C) to produce AalbF2, a dramatically improved assembly of the Ae. albopictus genome. AalbF2 reveals widespread viral insertions, novel microRNAs and piRNA clusters, the sex-determining locus, and new immunity genes, and enables genome-wide studies of geographically diverse Ae. albopictus populations and analyses of the developmental and stage-dependent network of expression data. Additionally, we build the first physical map for this species with 75% of the assembled genome anchored to the chromosomes.

Conclusion: The AalbF2 genome assembly represents the most up-to-date collective knowledge of the Ae. albopictus genome. These resources represent a foundation to improve understanding of the adaptation potential and the epidemiological relevance of this species and foster the development of innovative control measures.

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Additional details

Funding

European Commission
VIVARNASILENCING - Antiviral Defense in the Vector Mosquito Aedes aegypti: induction and suppression of RNA silencing pathways 615680