Danaus plexippus genome assembly, annotation and expression atlas. Danaus plexippus

The monarch butterfly epitomizes biodiversity decline, and for understanding its unique adaptations, genomic resources that better incorporate the functional-species diversity are required. We constructed a reference-quality genome assembly from an individual resident at a nonmigratory colony in Mexico, and with RNA-seq data from larval and pupal stages, plus adult morphological sections, we generated a new gene annotation and an expression atlas including coding and non-coding genes.