Stenopsyche tienmushanensis Genome sequencing and assembly

Comprising >16,000 species, caddisflies are the most diverse of the strictly aquatic insect orders. While the adults resemble small drab moths, caddisfly larvae construct a wide variety of fixed retreats and tube cases out of leaf matter, sticks, and sediment from the benthos of rivers, lakes, streams, and even marine tidal pools. The variety of underwater structures built by caddisflies are only possible due to their ability to generate silk that retains flexibility and stickiness under water. Because of these unique characteristics, biomedical engineers have studied the structure of caddisfly silk in depth with a goal toward mimicking its properties for use in medical adhesives. The genome presented here is the first high quality draft genome of a caddisfly. With a known diversity of over 16,000 species, this is a welcome addition to the genomic resources available to the caddisfly research community. Because caddisflies are important members of freshwater ecological communities and their species have been shown to be effective indicators of freshwater health, there exists a host of researchers in freshwater biology and entomology who study caddisflies whose research will be positively impacted by the availability of a high quality draft genome. In addition, the availability of a genome with fully assembled and resolved silk genes will allow researchers to characterize the variation in silk production across the order by targeting those genomic regions associated with silk.