A chromosome-level genome assembly of important alien species Paracoccus marginatus based on PacBio and Hi-C technologies

The papaya mealybug, <i>Paracoccus marginatus</i> Williams and Granara de Willink is a serious invasive species that feed on more than 200 plants and recorded from more than 60 countries and regions. A chromosome-level genome assembly of <i>P. marginatus</i> was assembly based on PacBio and Hi-C technology. The assembled genome was 213.81Mb in size was assigned to four chromosomes. The genome had contig and scaffold N50s of 20.2 Mb and 48.01 Mb, respectively. A BUSCO completeness score of 95.5%, and CEGMA indicated that 99.56% of the assembled genome suggested the complete annotated for <i>P. marginatus</i>. Current genome contained 13,367 predicted protein-coding genes and 49.26% of the assembly was annotated as repetitive sequences. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the Sternorrhyncha relationship of Aleyrodoidea + (Psylloidea+(Coccoidea+Aphidoidea)) and papaya mealybug diverged from Aphids (Aphidoidea) approximately 250.48 (231.6-271.17) million years ago. The gene families involved in drug-metabolism-other enzymes, ascorbate and aldarate, porphyrin and chlorophyll, metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450, drug-metabolism-cytochrome P450, retinol metabolism, pentose and glucuronate interconversions were significantly expanded, revealing the potential genomic basis for the polyphagia of papaya mealybug and its excellent environment adaptation as invasive species. This high-quality genome of papaya mealybug will provide a valuable genomic resource for research in a broad range of areas, such as: future population genetics, evolutionary, insect-plant relationship, insect-microorganism interactions, alien species management, phylogenetic exploration of Pseudococcidae as well as comparative genomic studies of Hemiptera and other insects.