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

Abstract

AbstractFlow cytometry estimates of genome sizes among species ofDrosophilashow a 3-fold variation, ranging from ∼127 Mb inDrosophila mercatorumto ∼400 Mb inDrosophila cyrtoloma. However, the assembled portion of the Muller F Element (orthologous to the fourth chromosome inDrosophila 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 fourDrosophilaspecies 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.