Reference genome of the ant Lasius platythorax. Lasius platythorax

Ants are a highly diversified insect family of the order Hymenoptera, with many fascinating characteristics such as eusociality, chemical communication, farming, or social parasitism. Moreover, ants frequent a wide variety of habitats from dry deserts, grasslands and savannas to cold temperate forests. The ability of ants to inhabit such diverse habitat ranges demonstrates their adaptability and ecological resilience. However, little is known about the genetic underpinnings of this vast array of traits and their adaptive potential. Here, we generated a high-quality genome assembly for the ant species Lasius platythorax using long-read PacBio HiFi in combination with chromatin conformation capture (Hi-C) sequencing. We successfully assembled the genome into 15 chromosome-level scaffolds ranging from 7.9 to 19.2 Mb and encompassing 204.6 Mb out of 235.3 Mb (total assembly), and a BUSCO score of 86% (Hymenoptera_odb10). Comparative genomics between the two sister species will provide insights into the genomic basis of trait differentiation.

蚂蚁是膜翅目（Hymenoptera）下一类高度多样化的昆虫类群，兼具诸多引人关注的特征，包括真社会性（eusociality）、化学通讯、养殖行为与社会寄生等。此外，蚂蚁可栖息于多种多样的生境，从干旱荒漠、草原、稀树草原至寒冷温带森林均有分布。蚂蚁能够占据如此多样的生境，彰显了其极强的适应性与生态韧性。然而，目前学界对这些丰富性状背后的遗传基础及其适应性潜能仍知之甚少。本研究针对扁胸蚁（Lasius platythorax），结合PacBio HiFi长读长测序与染色质构象捕获（Hi-C）测序技术，构建了其高质量基因组组装结果。本研究成功将该物种的基因组组装为15条染色体级骨架序列，序列长度区间为7.9~19.2 Mb，总组装长度达235.3 Mb，其中15条骨架序列覆盖204.6 Mb的序列信息；其BUSCO（Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs）评估得分为86%，所用数据集为Hymenoptera_odb10。对这两个姊妹物种开展比较基因组学研究，将为解析性状分化的基因组基础提供重要见解。