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Molecular Evolutionary Trends And Feeding Ecology Diversification In The Hemiptera, Anchored By The Milkweed Bug Genome, Kristen A. Panfilio, Iris M. Vargas Jentzsch, Joshua B. Benoit, Deniz Erezyilmaz, Yuichiro Suzuki, Stefano Colella, Hugh M. Robertson, Monica F. Poelchau, Robert M. Waterhouse, Panagiotis Ioannidis, Matthew T. Weirauch, Daniel S. T. Hughes, Shwetha C. Murali, John H. Werren, Chris G. C. Jacobs, Elizabeth J. Duncan, David Armisén, Barbara M. I. Vreede, Patrice Baa-Puyoulet, Chloé S. Berger, Chun-Che Chang, Hsu Chao, Mei-Ju M. Chen, Yen-Ta Chen, Christopher P. Childers, Ariel D. Chipman, Andrew G. Cridge, Antonin J. J. Crumière, Peter K. Dearden, Elise M. Didion, Subba Reddy Palli, Jayendra Nath Shukla

Entomology Faculty Publications

Background: The Hemiptera (aphids, cicadas, and true bugs) are a key insect order, with high diversity for feeding ecology and excellent experimental tractability for molecular genetics. Building upon recent sequencing of hemipteran pests such as phloem-feeding aphids and blood-feeding bed bugs, we present the genome sequence and comparative analyses centered on the milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus, a seed feeder of the family Lygaeidae.

Results: The 926-Mb Oncopeltus genome is well represented by the current assembly and official gene set. We use our genomic and RNA-seq data not only to characterize the protein-coding gene repertoire and perform isoform-specific RNAi, but …