The codling moth Cydia pomonella, a major invasive pest of pome fruit, has spread around the globe in the last half century. We generated a chromosome-level scaffold assembly including the Z chromosome and a portion of the W chromosome. This assembly reveals the duplication of an olfactory receptor gene (OR3), which we demonstrate enhances the ability of C. pomonella to exploit kairomones and pheromones in locating both host plants and mates. Genome-wide association studies contrasting insecticide-resistant and susceptible strains identify hundreds of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) potentially associated with insecticide resistance, including three SNPs found in the promoter of CYP6B2. RNAi knockdown of CYP6B2 increases C. pomonella sensitivity to two insecticides, deltamethrin and azinphos methyl. The high-quality genome assembly of C. pomonella informs the genetic basis of its invasiveness, suggesting the codling moth has distinctive capabilities and adaptive potential that may explain its worldwide expansion.

Background: A fundamental feature of parasitism is the nutritional exploitation of host organisms by their parasites. Parasitoid wasps lay eggs on arthropod hosts, exploiting them for nutrition to support larval development by using diverse effectors aimed at regulating host metabolism. However, the genetic components and molecular mechanisms at the basis of such exploitation, especially the utilization of host amino acid resources, remain largely unknown. To address this question, here, we present a chromosome-level genome assembly of the parasitoid wasp Cotesia chilonis and reconstruct its amino acid biosynthetic pathway. Results: Analyses of the amino acid synthetic pathway indicate that C. chilonis lost the ability to synthesize ten amino acids, which was confirmed by feeding experiments with amino acid-depleted media. Of the ten pathways, nine are known to have been lost in the common ancestor of animals. We find that the ability to synthesize arginine was also lost in C. chilonis because of the absence of two key genes in the arginine synthesis pathway. Further analyses of the genomes of 72 arthropods species show that the loss of arginine synthesis is common in arthropods. Metabolomic analyses by UPLC-MS/MS reveal that the temporal concentrations of arginine, serine, tyrosine, and alanine are significantly higher in host (Chilo suppressalis) hemolymph at 3 days after parasitism, whereas the temporal levels of 5-hydroxylysine, glutamic acid, methionine, and lysine are significantly lower. We sequence the transcriptomes of a parasitized host and non-parasitized control. Differential gene expression analyses using these transcriptomes indicate that parasitoid wasps inhibit amino acid utilization and activate protein degradation in the host, likely resulting in the increase of amino acid content in host hemolymph. Conclusions: We sequenced the genome of a parasitoid wasp, C. chilonis, and revealed the features of trait loss in amino acid biosynthesis. Our work provides new insights into amino acid exploitation by parasitoid wasps, and this knowledge can specifically be used to design parasitoid artificial diets that potentially benefit mass rearing of parasitoids for pest control.

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV), a member of the genus Begomovirus in the family Geminiviridae is naturally transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (order Hemiptera, family Aleyrodida...

With the rapid development of transgenic technology and the increasing prevalence of genetically modified (GMO) crops, incidents such as illegal importation, environmental contamination, and safety concerns associated with GMOs have risen significantly in recent years. Consequently, there is a growing demand for more advanced methods of GMO crop detection. Traditional molecular detection techniques, which rely on nucleic acids or proteins, are becoming less effective due to the increasing complexity of GMO crop genomes. In contrast, detection technologies based on second- and third-generation high-throughput sequencing offer promising solutions to these challenges. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements in GMO crop detection technologies, categorizing and describing various approaches, and comparing their respective strengths and limitations. The article emphasizes the current state, benefits, challenges, and future prospects of high-throughput sequencing in GMO detection, aiming to guide further research and development in this field.

Live attenuated Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccines have been used widely to protect chickens against Newcastle disease. However, the vaccine issues caused by genome mutations can seriously affe... METHOD SUMMARY The study demonstrates the use of nanopore sequencing technology for rapid genome determination and variation analysis from a live attenuated Newcastle disease virus vaccine; that is...

Tomato yellow mottle-associated virus (TYMaV), is a member of the genus Cytorhabdovirus in the family Rhabdoviridae, which has been reported to infect tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) (Xu et al. 20...