Chromosome-level genomes of two armyworms,Mythimna separata and Mythimna loreyi,provide insights into the biosynthesis and reception of sex pheromones |
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Authors: | Hanbo Zhao Hangwei Liu Yipeng Liu Chan Wang Baiwei Ma Mengjun Zhang Yan Zhang Yang Liu Bin Yang Sen Wang Fan Jiang Hengchao Wang Anqi Wang Dong Xu Guirong Wang Wei Fan |
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Affiliation: | 1. Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture (Shenzhen Branch), Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China;2. Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture (Shenzhen Branch), Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China;3. State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China |
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Abstract: | Mythimna separata and Mythimna loreyi are global pests of gramineous cereals, heavily controlled with synthetic insecticides. Here, we generated two high-quality chromosome-level genome assemblies for M. separata (688 Mb) and M. loreyi (683 Mb). Our analysis identified Z and W chromosomes, with few genes and abundant transposable elements (TEs) found on the W chromosome. We also observed a recent explosion of long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs), which contributed to the larger genomes of Mythimna. The two armyworms diverged ~10.5 MYA, with only three chromosomes have intrachromosomal rearrangements. Additionally, we observed a tandem repeat expansion of α-amylase genes in Mythimna, which may promote the digestion of carbohydrates and exacerbate their damage to crops. Furthermore, we inferred the sex pheromone biosynthesis pathway for M. separata, M. loreyi and Spodoptera frugiperda. We discovered that M. loreyi and S. frugiperda synthesized the same major constituents of sex pheromones through different pathways. Specifically, the double bonds in the dominant sex pheromone components of S. frugiperda were generated by Δ9- and Δ11-desaturase, while they were generated by Δ11-desaturase and chain-shortening reactions in M. loreyi. We also identified pheromone receptor (PR) genes and inferred their corresponding components. These findings provide a better understanding of sex pheromone communication and promote the development of a new pest control strategy involving pheromone traps, which are more effective and environmentally friendly than current strategies. |
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Keywords: | Mythimna loreyi Mythimna separata sex pheromones biosynthesis sex pheromones reception Spodoptera frugiperda |
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