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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.05.22.541758

Long-read genome assemblies for the study of chromosome expansion: Drosophila kikkawai Drosophila takahashii, Drosophila bipectinata, and Drosophila ananassae

Leung, W.·Torosin, N.·Cao, W.·Reed, L. K.·Arrigo, C.·Elgin, S. C. R.·Ellison, C. E.
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Abstract

Flow cytometry estimates of genome sizes among species of Drosophila show a 3-fold variation, ranging from [~]127 Mb in Drosophila mercatorum to [~]400 Mb in Drosophila cyrtoloma. However, the assembled portion of the Muller F Element (orthologous to the fourth chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster) shows a nearly 14-fold variation in size, ranging from [~]1.3 Mb to > 18 Mb. Here, we present chromosome-level long read genome assemblies for four Drosophila species with expanded F Elements ranging in size from 2.3 Mb to 20.5 Mb. Each Muller Element is present as a single scaffold in each assembly. These assemblies will enable new insights into the evolutionary causes and consequences of chromosome size expansion.

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Leung, W., Torosin, N., Cao, W., Reed, L. K., Arrigo, C., Elgin, S. C. R., Ellison, C. E.. 2023-05-24. Long-read genome assemblies for the study of chromosome expansion: Drosophila kikkawai Drosophila takahashii, Drosophila bipectinata, and Drosophila ananassae. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.22.541758

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