One Method to Sequence Them All? Comparison between Whole-Genome Sequencing (WGS) and Target Enrichment (TE) of museum specimens from the moth families Epicopeiidae and Sematuridae (Lepidoptera)

There are various possibilities for sequencing highly degraded DNA, such as target enrichment (TE), or whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Here we compare TE and WGS methods using old museum specimens of two families of moths in the superfamily Geometroidea: Epicopeiidae and Sematuridae. Until recently, the relationships of these two families were unclear, as few studies had been done. Recently two studies used the TE approach, either on relatively fresh specimens, or on old museum specimens. Here, we aim to increase the sampling of the families Epicopeiidae and Sematuridae from museum specimens using the WGS method. We show that both sequencing methods give comparable results, but, unsurprisingly, WGS recovers more data. By combining TE and WGS data, we confirm that Sematuridae are sister to Pseudobistonidae+Epicopeiidae. Relationships of genera within the families are well supported. With the costs of WGS decreasing, we suggest that using low-coverage whole genome sequencing is becoming an increasingly viable option in the phylogenomics of insects.