Genome sequencing and transcriptome assembly of the parasitoid wasp Megaphragma amalphitanum (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

Abstract

Miniaturization of organisms is one of the most interesting evolutionary phenomena. This is a very common process and is widely represented in multicellular organisms: invertebrates (nemertean, nematodes, brachiopods, mollusks, arachnids, and insects), and vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, birds, and even mammals). Miniaturization leads to a significant reduction in the body size and simplification of some systems and organs without loss of species viability. Typically, this complex evolutionary modification is associated with occupation of the new ecological niches by the species. Reduction can affect not only the overall size of the organism but also the size of its cells as well as promote changes in the genome and the structure of specific genes. Parasitoid wasp Megaphragma amalphitanum (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) is considered one of the smallest insects described to date. Therefore, it represents an attractive object for the studies of genetic aspects of body size reduction during evolution. Whole genome sequencing of M. amalphitanum and subsequent genome annotation and transcriptome assembly allow us to define the changes in the genetic material during organism miniaturization in relation to the larger Hymenoptera species. Our preliminary analysis revealed that genome size of M. amalphitanum is 346 Mb and transcriptome size is 27.5 Mb.