Gonatopus flavifemur is a fascinating but poorly understood species in family Dryinidae (superfamily Chrysidoidea). it is a common parasitoid of the notorious rice pest, the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens. Its unique predatory and parasitoid behaviors make this species very effective for the biological control of pests. Moreover, it has evolved several interesting characteristics, such as the predatory behavior of adult females and the distinct sexual dimorphism. It is a good model for studying the evolutionary origin of predatory behavior and sexual dimorphism. Here, we reported a high-quality genome assembly of G. flavifemur using Nanopore long-read sequencing and Illumina short-read sequencing. This assembly was highly accurate and with high completeness, and will greatly facilitate future studies of the comparative genomics in Hymenoptera and pest control.

Project name: Gonatopus flavifemur, genome sequencing and assembly.

Author: Yi Yang1,†, Xinhai Ye1,†, Cong Dang1, Yunshen Cao1, Rui Hong1, Yu H. Sun2, Shan Xiao1, Yang Mei1, Le Xu1, Qi Fang1, Huamei Xiao1,3, Fei Li1, Gongyin Ye1,*

Please cite: Genome of the pincer wasp Gonatopus flavifemur reveals unique venom evolution and a dual adaptation to parasitism and predation. [PDF]