A highly-contiguous genome assembly of the Eurasian spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, provides insight into a major forest pest

Abstract

Conifer-feeding bark beetles are important herbivores and decomposers in forest ecosystems. These species complete their life cycle in nutritionally poor substrates and some can kill enormous numbers of trees during population outbreaks. The Eurasian spruce bark beetle ( Ips typographus) can destroy >100 million m ³ of spruce in a single year. We report a 236.8 Mb I. typographus genome assembly using PacBio long-read sequencing. The final phased assembly has a contig N ₅₀ of 6.65 Mb in 272 contigs and is predicted to contain 23,923 protein-coding genes. We reveal expanded gene families associated with plant cell wall degradation, including pectinases, aspartyl proteases, and glycosyl hydrolases. This genome sequence from the genus Ips provides timely resources to address questions about the evolutionary biology of the true weevils (Curculionidae), one of the most species-rich animal families. In forests of today, increasingly stressed by global warming, this draft genome may assist in developing pest control strategies to mitigate outbreaks.

Abstract

Daniel Powell et al. present a high-quality genome assembly of the Eurasian spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, which is known to cause substantial damage to European forests. Their results provide an important resource for investigation of the underlying physiology of this pest species and limit future threats to European forests.