Genomic resources of aquatic Lepidoptera, Elophila obliteralis and Hyposmocoma kahamanoa, reveal similarities with Trichoptera in amino acid composition of major silk genes.

ABSTRACT: While most species of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) have entirely terrestrial life histories, ∼0.5% of the described species are known to have an aquatic larval stage. Larvae of aquatic Lepidoptera are similar to caddisflies (Trichoptera) in that they use silk to anchor themselves to underwater substrates or to build protective cases. However, the physical properties and genetic elements of silks in aquatic Lepidoptera remain unstudied, as most research on lepidopteran silk has focused on the commercially important silkworm, Bombyx mori. Here, we provide high-quality PacBio HiFi genome assemblies of 2 distantly-related aquatic Lepidoptera species [Elophila obliteralis (Pyraloidea: Crambidae) and Hyposmocoma kahamanoa (Gelechioidea: Cosmopterigidae)]. As a step toward understanding th

SUBMITTER: Heckenhauer J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11373647 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature