Chromosome-level genome assembly of Chinese water scorpion Ranatra chinensis (Heteroptera: Nepidae)

Abstract

Abstract Heteroptera (the true bugs), one of the most diverse lineages of insects, diversified in feeding strategies and living habitats, and thus become an ideal lineage for studies on adaptive evolution. Chinese water scorpion Ranatra chinensis (Heteroptera: Nepidae) is a predaceous bug living in lentic water systems, representing an ideal model for studying habitat transition and adaptation to water environment. However, genetic studies on this water bug remain limited. Here, we obtained a chromosome-level genome of R. chinensis using PacBio HiFi long reads and Hi-C sequencing reads. The total assembly size of genome is 867.89 Mb, with a scaffold N50 length of 26.48 Mb and the GC content of 39.50%. All contigs were assembled into 23 pseudo-chromosomes (N = 19 A + X1X2X3X4), and we predicted 18,424 protein-coding genes in this genome. This study will provide valuable genomic resources for future studies on the biology, water adaptation, and genome evolution of water bugs.