Data for: Highly contiguous genome assembly of Drosophila prolongata – a model for evolution of sexual dimorphism and male-specific innovations

Drosophila prolongata is a member of
the melanogaster species group
and rhopaloa subgroup native to the subtropical
highlands of southeast Asia. This species exhibits an array of recently
evolved male-specific morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits
that distinguish it from its closest relatives, making it an attractive
model for studying the evolution of sexual dimorphism and testing theories
of sexual selection. The lack of genomic resources has impeded the
dissection of the molecular basis of sex-specific development and behavior
in this species. To address this, we assembled the genome of D.
prolongata using long-read sequencing and Hi-C scaffolding, resulting in a
highly complete and contiguous (scaffold N50 2.2Mb) genome assembly of
220Mb. The repetitive content of the genome is 24.6%, the plurality of
which are LTR retrotransposons (33.2%). Annotations based on RNA-seq data
and homology to related species revealed a total of 19,330 genes, of which
16,170 are protein-coding. The assembly includes 98.5% of Diptera BUSCO
genes, including 93.8% present as a single copy. Despite some likely
regional duplications, the completeness of this genome suggests that it
can be readily used for gene expression, GWAS, and other genomic analyses.