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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #386912
Research Project: Improved Surveillance and Control of Stable Flies, House Flies, and Other Filth Flies

Location: Mosquito and Fly Research

Title: Long-read assembly and annotation of the parasitoid wasp Muscidifurax raptorellus, a biological control agent for filth flies

Author
item XIONG, XIAO - Auburn University
item KELKAR, YOGESHWAR - University Of Rochester
item Geden, Christopher - Chris
item ZHANG, CHAO - Shanghai Jiaotong University
item WANG, YIDONG - University Of Amsterdam
item JONGEPIER, EVELIEN - University Of Amsterdam
item VERHULST, EVELINE - Wageningen University
item GADAU, JURGEN - University Of Munster
item WERREN, JOHN - University Of Rochester
item WANG, XU - Auburn University

Submitted to: Frontiers in Genetics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/4/2021
Publication Date: 11/12/2021
Citation: Xiong, X., Kelkar, Y.D., Geden, C.J., Zhang, C., Wang, Y., Jongepier, E., Verhulst, E.C., Gadau, J., Werren, J.H., Wang, X. 2021. Long-read assembly and annotation of the parasitoid wasp Muscidifurax raptorellus, a biological control agent for filth flies. Frontiers in Genetics. 12:748135. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2021.748135.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2021.748135

Interpretive Summary: Filth flies such as house fly and stable fly are among the most important pests of animal agriculture throughout the world. Fly control has long centered on the regular use of insecticides that are applied to premises, the animals themselves, or in baits. Insecticide resistance by the fly has made it increasingly difficult to these pests in this way. The most effective alternative to insecticidal control is the release of parasitic wasps that attack the fly while it is in the pupal stage. Little is known about the genetics of the wasps that are used for biocontrol of pest species, but a great deal is known about the jewel wasp, Nasonia vitripennis. In this study, conducted by an international team of that includes a scientist from USDA-ARS-CMAVE in Gainesville (FL) assembled and annotated a high-quality genome of M. raptorellus. This work provides the foundation for comparative and evolutionary genomic analysis in the economically important genus of Muscidifurax, comparison with N. vitripennis, and possible future biocontrol applications.

Technical Abstract: The parasitoid wasp Muscidifurax raptorellus (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) is a gregarious species that has received extensive attention for its potential in biological pest control against housefly, stable fly, and other filth flies. It has a high reproductive capacity and can be reared easily. However, a genome assembly is not available for M. raptorellus or any other species in this genus. Here, we assembled and annotated a high-quality genome of M. raptorellus with a genome size of 314 Mbp and a 97.9% BUSCO completeness score. The contig N50 is 4.67 Mb, suggesting excellent continuity of this assembly. We also achieved a complete circular mitochondrial genome with a length of 24,717 bp. We provided the first high-quality genome assembly of M. raptorellus, which builds the foundation for comparative and evolutionary genomic analysis in the genus of Muscidifurax, and possible future biocontrol applications.