Diaci v3.0: Chromosome-level assembly,de novotranscriptome and manual annotation ofDiaphorina citri,insect vector of Huanglongbing

AbstractBackgroundDiaphorina citriis a vector of “CandidatusLiberibacter asiaticus” (CLas), the gram-negative bacterial pathogen associated with citrus greening disease. Control measures rely on pesticides with negative impacts on the environment, natural ecosystems and human and animal health. In contrast, gene-targeting methods have the potential to specifically target the vector species and/or reduce pathogen transmission.ResultsTo improve the genomic resources needed for targeted pest control, we assembled aD. citrigenome based on PacBio long reads followed by proximity ligation-based scaffolding. The 474 Mb genome has 13 chromosomal-length scaffolds. 1,036 genes were manually curated as part of a community annotation project, composed primarily of undergraduate students. We also computationally identified a total of 1,015 putative transcription factors (TFs) and were able to infer motifs for 337 TFs (33 %). In addition, we produced a genome-independent transcriptome and genomes forD. citriendosymbionts.ConclusionsManual annotation provided more accurate gene models for use by researchers and also provided an excellent training opportunity for students from multiple institutions. All resources are available onCitrusGreening.organd NCBI. The chromosomal-lengthD. citrigenome assembly serves as a blueprint for the development of collaborative genomics projects for other medically and agriculturally significant insect vectors.