de novo sequencing and assembly of the genome and transcriptome of Culicoides sonorensis. Culicoides sonorensis genome and transcriptome assembly

The /Culicoides/ biting midges include major vectors of livestock disease agents such as bluetongue virus (BTV), Schmallenberg virus and African horse sickness virus. These diseases are listed as notifiable by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), a recognition of their potential for rapid spread via /Culicoides/dispersal and the clinical severity of the diseases they cause. Despite their relevance,/Culicoides/are a major family of biological vectors within the Diptera for which a genome sequence is not available. The closest phylogenetic species to the biting midges for which complete annotated genomes are available belong to the Culicidae, which have an estimated time of divergence of more than 200 million years. With the final aim of studying the genetic basis of vector competence in /Culicoides/ species, we have generated the first /de novo/ genome assembly of the KC cell line derived from the North American vector of bluetongue, /Culicoides/ /sonorensis/ and also the first /de novo /genome assembly for the adult males and females of this species. We have produced libraries of ESTs under 11 different conditions and transcriptome assemblies corresponding to each, as well as a combined assembly using the KC cell line genome assembly as a reference (with TopHat and Cufflinks) and also a /de novo /transcriptome assembly with Trinity.