We present a genome assembly from an individual male Oxytorus armatus (an ichneumonid wasp; Arthropoda; Insecta; Hymenoptera; Ichneumonidae). The genome sequence is 367.8 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 13 chromosomal pseudomolecules. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 56.22 kilobases in length.

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Exephanes ischioxanthus (an ichneumonid wasp; Arthropoda; Insecta; Hymenoptera; Ichneumonidae). The genome sequence is 284.0 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 12 chromosomal pseudomolecules. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 19.43 kilobases in length.

BACKGROUND: Maternally-inherited symbionts can induce pre-mating and/or post-mating reproductive isolation between sympatric host lineages, and speciation, by modifying host reproductive phenotypes. The large parasitoid wasp genus Cotesia (Braconidae) includes a diversity of cryptic species, each specialized in parasitizing one to few related Lepidoptera host species. Here, we characterized the infection status of an assemblage of 21 Cotesia species from 15 countries by several microbial symbionts, as a first step toward investigating whether symbionts may provide a barrier to gene flow between these parasitoid host lineages.
RESULTS: The symbiotic microbes Arsenophonus, Cardinium, Microsporidium and Spiroplasma were not detected in the Cotesia wasps. However, the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia was present in at least eight Cotesia species, and hence we concentrated on it upon screening additional DNA extracts and SRAs from NCBI. Some of the closely related Cotesia species carry similar Wolbachia strains, but most Wolbachia strains showed patterns of horizontal transfer between phylogenetically distant host lineages.
CONCLUSIONS: The lack of co-phylogenetic signal between Wolbachia and Cotesia suggests that the symbiont and hosts have not coevolved to an extent that would drive species divergence between the Cotesia host lineages. However, as the most common facultative symbiont of Cotesia species, Wolbachia may still function as a key-player in the biology of the parasitoid wasps. Its precise role in the evolution of this complex clade of cryptic species remains to be experimentally investigated.

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Pemphredon lugubris (the Mournful Wasp; Arthropoda; Insecta; Hymenoptera; Crabronidae). The genome sequence is 328.1 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 5 chromosomal pseudomolecules. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 15.88 kilobases in length. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 10,335 protein coding genes.

We present a genome assembly from an individual female Macrophya alboannulata (sawfly; Arthropoda; Insecta; Hymenoptera; Tenthredinidae). The genome sequence is 245.2 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 8 chromosomal pseudomolecules. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 23.17 kilobases in length. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 24,359 protein coding genes.

Diomorus aiolomorphi Kamijo (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) is an inquiline of gall maker Aiolomorphus rhopaloides Walker (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae). They are of significant economic significance and predominantly inhabit bamboo forest. So far, only four scaffold-level genomes have been published for the family Torymidae. In this study, we present a high-quality genome assembly of D. aiolomorphi at the chromosome level, achieved through the integration of Nanopore (ONT) long-read, Illumina pair-end DNA short-read, and High-through Chromosome Conformation Capture (Hi-C) sequencing methods. The final assembly was 1,084.56 Mb in genome size, with 1,083.41 Mb (99.89%) assigned to five pseudochromosomes. The scaffold N50 length reached 224.87 Mb, and the complete Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO) score was 97.3%. The genome contained 762.12 Mb of repetitive elements, accounting for 70.27% of the total genome size. A total of 18,011 protein-coding genes were predicted, with 17,829 genes being functionally annotated. The high-quality genome assembly of D. aiolomorphi presented in this study will serve as a valuable genomic resource for future research on parasitoid wasps. The results of this study may also contribute to the development of biological control strategies for pest management in bamboo forests, enhancing ecological balance and economic sustainability.

We present a genome assembly from an individual female Ectemnius lituratus (a digger wasp; Arthropoda; Insecta; Hymenoptera; Crabronidae). The genome sequence is 235.1 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 13 chromosomal pseudomolecules. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 29.67 kilobases in length. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 9,724 protein coding genes.

BACKGROUND: Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is a co-/post-transcriptional modification introducing A-to-G variations in RNAs. There is extensive discussion on whether the flexibility of RNA editing exerts a proteomic diversification role, or it just acts like hardwired mutations to correct the genomic allele. Eusocial insects evolved the ability to generate phenotypically differentiated individuals with the same genome, indicating the involvement of epigenetic/transcriptomic regulation.
METHODS: We obtained the genomes of 104 Hymenoptera insects and the transcriptomes of representative species. Comparative genomic analysis was performed to parse the evolutionary trajectory of a regulatory Ile > Met auto-recoding site in Adar gene.
RESULTS: At genome level, the pre-editing Ile codon is conserved across a node containing all eusocial hymenopterans. At RNA level, the editing events are confirmed in representative species and shows considerable condition-specificity. Compared to random expectation, the editable Ile codon avoids genomic substitutions to Met or to uneditable Ile codons, but does not avoid mutations to other unrelated amino acids.
CONCLUSIONS: The flexibility of Adar auto-recoding site in Hymenoptera is selectively maintained, supporting the flexible RNA editing hypothesis. We proposed a new angle to view the adaptation of RNA editing, providing another layer to explain the great phenotypical plasticity of eusocial insects.

We present a genome assembly from an individual female Lasioglossum pauxillum (the Lobe-spurred Furrow Bee; Arthropoda; Insecta; Hymenoptera; Halictidae). The genome sequence is 432.0 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 9 chromosomal pseudomolecules. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 27.71 kilobases in length. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 12,353 protein coding genes.

Little is known about winter-season parasitism of eggs of the corn leafhopper Dalbulus maidis DeLong (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), an important pest of maize throughout the Americas. Our study, conducted in Mexico, aimed to characterize winter-season parasitism of corn leafhopper eggs on maize crops cultivated with drip irrigation and on wild grasses that grow on the edges of maize crops when maize is not present. Maize leaves baited with D. maidis eggs were used to trap the egg parasitoids in the field. In the first year (2022), parasitism of D. maidis eggs was investigated in maize fields planted contiguously on different dates (asynchronous planting). In the second year (2023), parasitism of D. maidis eggs was evaluated in edge grasses and in adjacent maize crops planted on the same date (synchronous). The highest percentage of parasitism (53%), percentage of emergence, and total abundance of egg parasitoids were found in asynchronous maize fields. Here, Anagrus virlai Triapitsyn (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), Paracentrobia subflava (Girault) (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), and Pseudoligosita sp. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) wasps were found parasitizing the D. maidis eggs, with P. subflava being the most abundant. In wild edge grasses, only P. subflava was found, showing low levels of parasitism, while in synchronous maize, P. subflava increased its percentage of parasitism (up to 37%), percentage of emergence, and abundance, during winter. These results suggest that P. subflava acts as an efficient biological control agent of D. maidis in irrigation-grown maize crops during the winter season, and that edge grasses are overwinter habitats for P. subflava.