Chromosome-level Genome Assembly and Sex-specific Differential Transcriptome of the White-backed Planthopper, Sogatella furcifera .

Background: The white-backed planthopper (WBPH), Sogatella furcifera , causes great damage to many crops (mainly rice) by direct feeding or transmitting plant viruses. The previous genome assembly was generated by second-generation sequencing technologies, with a contig N50 of only 51.5 kb, and contained a lot of heterozygous sequences.
Methods: We utilized third-generation sequencing technologies and Hi-C data to generate a high-quality chromosome-level assembly. We also provide a large amount of transcriptome data for full-length transcriptome analysis and gender differential expression analysis.
Results: The final assembly comprised 56.38 Mb, with a contig N50 of 2.20 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 45.25 Mb. Fourteen autosomes and one X chromosome were identified. More than 99.5% of the assembled bases located on the 15 chromosomes. 95.9% of the complete BUSCO Hemiptera genes were detected in the final assembly and 16,880 genes were annotated. 722 genes were relatively highly expressed in males, while 60 in the females.
Conclusion: The integrated genome, definite sex chromosomes, comprehensive transcriptome profiles, high efficiency of RNA interference and short life cycle substantially made WBPH an efficient research object for functional genomics.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest, financial or otherwise.
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