Complete chromosome-level genome assembly data from the tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Margaret L. Allen, Ph.D.,
Perot Saelao,
Godfrey P. Miles,
David C. Cross,
JoVonn G. Hill,
Edward L. Vargo,
Michael J. Grodowitz
Affiliations
Margaret L. Allen, Ph.D.
US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Southeast Area, Biological Control of Pests Research Unit, National Biological Control Laboratory, 59 Lee Road, Stoneville, MS 38776, United States; Corresponding author.
Perot Saelao
US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Plains Area, Veterinary Pest Genetics Research Unit, US Livestock Insects Research Lab, 2700 Fredericksburg Road, Kerrville, TX 78028, United States
Godfrey P. Miles
US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Southeast Area, Biological Control of Pests Research Unit, National Biological Control Laboratory, 59 Lee Road, Stoneville, MS 38776, United States
David C. Cross
Mississippi State University, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, 100 Old Hwy. 12, Mississippi State, MS 39762, United States
JoVonn G. Hill
Mississippi State University, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, 100 Old Hwy. 12, Mississippi State, MS 39762, United States
Edward L. Vargo
Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, 2143 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843, United States
Michael J. Grodowitz
US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Southeast Area, Biological Control of Pests Research Unit, National Biological Control Laboratory, 59 Lee Road, Stoneville, MS 38776, United States
The tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) has a native range that extends from northern Argentina to southern Brazil. In the U.S.A. this species has often been misidentified as Nylanderia (Paratrechina) pubens or N. cf. pubens and has likely been present in Florida and Texas for several decades [1]. In the early 2000’s explosive population growth in Texas and neighboring states drew renewed taxonomic focus. Genetic analyses [2,3] aided in identifying the pest species as N. fulva. This species poses an invasive threat to native flora and fauna and human structures. In its invasive range it has been reported to displace another invasive species, the red imported fire ant. The specimens used for genome sequencing were obtained from the coastal region of Mississippi. DNA was extracted from pupae. The genome data set was deposited to the National Center for Biotechnology Information as submission ID: SUB10775679, Project ID: PRJNA796544, Accession IDs: SAMN24895442 and JAKFQQ000000000. The organism taxid is 613905, locus tag prefixes are L1K79. The assembly, USDA_Nfulva_1.0, was generated in collaboration with Dovetail Genomics (now Cantata Bio) to yield a chromosome-level assembly of 375 Mb with a 15.67 Mb N50 and 78X coverage and revealing 16 putative chromosomes. This high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly was released prior to publication as a public service to the research community.
