Genome assembly and annotation of the Dark-branded Bushbrown butterfly Mycalesis mineus (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)

We report a high-quality genome draft assembly of the Dark-branded
Bushbrown, Mycalesis mineus, a member of the Satyrinae subfamily of
nymphalid butterflies. This species is emerging as a promising model
organism for investigating the evolution and development of phenotypic
plasticity. Using 45.99 Gb of long-read data (N50=11.11 Kb), we assembled
a genome size of 497.4 Mb for M. mineus. The assembly is highly contiguous
and nearly complete (96.8% of BUSCO lepidopteran genes were complete and
single-copy). The genome comprises 38.71% of repetitive elements and
includes 20,967 predicted protein coding genes. The assembled genome was
super-scaffolded into 28 pseudo-chromosomes using a closely related
species, Bicyclus anynana, with a chromosomal-level genome as a template.
This valuable genomic tool will advance both ongoing and future research
focused on this model organism.