De novo genome assembly of Kallima inachus

Oakleaf butterflies in the genus Kallima have a polymorphic wing
phenotype, enabling these insects to masquerade as dead leaves. By
studying mechanisms that shape the genetic and species diversity of these
butterflies, a new perspective can be provided to understand the
evolutionary innovation driven by geographic changes and natural
selection. We found that leaf wing polymorphism in Kallima butterflies is
controlled by the wing patterning gene cortex. We hypothesized that
multiple mechanisms may independently lead to the reduction or suppression
of recombination among different cortex haplotypes. To test this
hypothesis, we performed Nanopore re-sequencing and de novo genome
assembly for 4 Kallima inachus individuals and obtained 4 individual
genomes. We identified two chromosomal inversions spanning these
haplotypes.