A High-Quality Genome Assembly from a Single, Field collected Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) using the PacBio Sequel II System

A high-quality reference genome is an essential tool for applied and basic research on arthropods. Long-read sequencing technologies may be used to generate more complete and contiguous genome assemblies than alternate technologies, however, long-read methods have historically had greater input DNA requirements and higher costs than next generation sequencing, which are barriers to their use on many samples. Here, we present a 2.3 Gb de novo genome assembly of a field-collected adult female Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) using a single PacBio SMRT Cell. The Spotted Lanternfly is an invasive species recently discovered in the northeastern United States, threatening to damage economically important crop plants in the region. The DNA from one individual was used to make one standard, size-selected library with an average DNA fragment size of ~20 kb. The library was run on one Sequel II SMRT Cell 8M, generating a total of 132 Gb of long-read sequences, of which 82 Gb were from unique library molecules, representing approximately 36-fold coverage of the genome. The assembly had high contiguity (contig N50 length = 1.5 Mb), completeness, and sequence level accuracy as estimated by conserved gene set analysis (96.8% of conserved genes both complete and without frame shift errors). Further, it was possible to segregate more than half of the diploid genome into the two separate haplotypes. The assembly also recovered two microbial symbiont genomes known to be associated with L. delicatula, each microbial genome being assembled into a single contig. We demonstrate that field-collected arthropods can be used for the rapid generation of high-quality genome assemblies, an attractive approach for projects on emerging invasive species, disease vectors, or conservation efforts of endangered species.