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ARS Home » Plains Area » Kerrville, Texas » Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory » LAPRU » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #346099
Title: A whole genome assembly of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans, and prediction of genes with roles in metabolism and sex determination

Author
item KONGANTI, KRANTI - Texas A&M University
item Guerrero, Felicito
item SCHILKEY, FAYE - National Center For Genome Resources
item NGAM, PETER - University Of Texas
item JACOBI, JENNIFER - National Center For Genome Resources
item UMALE, POOJA - Non ARS Employee
item Perez De Leon, Adalberto - Beto
item THREADGILL, DAVID - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: G3, Genes/Genomes/Genetics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/8/2018
Publication Date: 4/5/2018
Citation: Konganti, K., Guerrero, F., Schilkey, F., Ngam, P., Jacobi, J., Umale, P., Perez De Leon, A.A., Threadgill, D. 2018. A whole genome assembly of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans, and prediction of genes with roles in metabolism and sex determination. G3, Genes/Genomes/Genetics. 8:1675-1686.

Interpretive Summary: Haematobia irritans, commonly known as the horn fly, is a globally distributed blood-feeding pest of cattle that is responsible for significant economic losses to cattle producers. Control of this pest centers around the use of chemical insecticides but problems with insecticide resistance have become common in the horn fly. We report the sequencing, assembly, and annotation of the horn fly genome. The assembled genome is 1.16 Gb, comprised of 77,335 scaffolds with N50 contig size of 23.4 Kb. We have predicted 35,280 gene coding regions of which 19,099 have been assigned functional annotations by computational bioinformatic approaches. Comparative genomics study with the Dipteran flies Musca domestica L., Drosophila melanogaster, and Lucilia cuprina, show that the horn fly is most closely related to M. domestica, with the other two flies more distant relatives. We also identified a gene locus for the sodium channel protein that has been shown to confer target site resistance to the most common class of pesticides used in fly control. Additionally, we have identified 281 genomic loci encoding members of metabolic enzyme gene families such as cytochrome P450s, esterases and glutathione S-transferases and several genes with similarity to sex determination pathway genes in other Dipteran species.

Technical Abstract: Haematobia irritans, commonly known as the horn fly, is a globally distributed blood-feeding pest of cattle that is responsible for significant economic losses to cattle producers. Control of this pest centers around the use of chemical insecticides but problems with insecticide resistance have become common in the horn fly. We report the sequencing, assembly, and annotation of the horn fly genome. The assembled genome is 1.16 Gb, comprised of 77,335 scaffolds with N50 contig size of 23.4 Kb. Using RNA-Seq data, we have predicted 35,280 gene models of which 19,099 have been assigned functional annotations. Comparative genomics study with the Dipteran flies Musca domestica L., Drosophila melanogaster, and Lucilia cuprina, show that the horn fly is most closely related to M. domestica, sharing 8,958 orthologous gene clusters followed by D. melanogaster and L. cuprina sharing 7,775 and 7,668 orthologous clusters respectively. We also identified a gene locus for the sodium channel protein that has been shown to confer target site resistance to the most common class of pesticides used in fly control. Additionally, we have identified 281 genomic loci encoding members of metabolic enzyme gene families such as cytochrome P450s, esterases and glutathione S-transferases and several genes orthologous to sex determination pathway genes in other Dipteran species.