Extensive OMICS resources for Sf21 and High Five cell lines

Insect derived cell-lines, from Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf21) and from Trichoplusia ni (High Five), are ones of the most widely used systems for recombinant protein expression in Baculoviral Expression Vector System (BEVS). Genomic sequences and annotations are still incomplete for Sf21 or absent for High Five. In this study we present an approach using different sequencing data types with short-read sequencing, long synthetic and Oxford Nanopore reads to build genomes at an unprecedented resolution. The Sf21 and High Five assemblies contain 4,020 scaffolds of size, 463 Mb with N50 of 364 Kb and 2,954 scaffolds of size, 332 Mb with N50 of 326 Kb, respectively. Furthermore, we build a new gene prediction workflow, which integrates transcriptome proteome information using pre-existing tools. Using this approach, we could predict 21,506 Sf21 genes and 14,159 High Five genes, which were then functionally annotated. Finally, we also generate and integrate proteomic datasets to validate predicted genes. This integrative approach could be theoretically applied to any uncharacterized genome and result in valuable new resources. With this information available, Sf21 and High Five cells will become even better tools for protein expression and could be used in a wider range of applications, from promoter identifications to genome engineering and editing.