The genome assemble of Bemisia tabaci MED

<p><span><strong>Aim</strong>: </span><span>The sweet potato whitefly, <em>Bemisia tabaci </em>MED is a globally invasive species that causes serious economic damage to agroecosystems. Despite the significant threat it poses to agricultural and economic crops worldwide, the global perspective of the invasion patterns and genetic mechanism contributing to the success of this notorious pest is still poorly understood. The objective of this research was to enhance genome and population genetic analyses to better understand the intricate invasion patterns of <em>B. tabaci</em> MED. </span></p> <p><span><strong>Location</strong>: </span><span>Samples were collected in native (Spain, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, and Israel) and invaded regions (China, South Korea and North America).</span></p> <p><span><strong>Methods</strong>: </span><span>We first assembled a chromosome-scale reference genome of <em>B. tabaci</em> MED, and then employed the restriction site‐associated 2b‐RAD method to genotype over 20, 000 high‐quality single nucleotide polymorphisms from 29 geographical populations.</span></p> <p><span><strong>Results</strong>: </span><span>A reference genome of <em>B. tabaci </em>MED, with a size of 637.47 Mb, was available. The majority of the assembled sequences (99%) were anchored onto ten linkage groups, with an N50 size of 58.76 Mb, representing a significant improvement over previous whitefly genome assemblies. We identified rapidly expanded gene families and positively selected genes, probably contributing to successful invasion and rapid adaptation to the new environment. Population genomics analysis showed that </span><span>three </span><span>highly differentiated genetic groups</span><span> were formed</span><span>, and </span><span>c</span><span>omplex and e</span><span>xtensive gene flow occurred across the Mediterranean populations</span><span>. The genetic admixture patterns in East Asia populations were distinct from those in North America, indicating that they had different source populations.</span> </p> <p><span><strong>Conclusions</strong>: </span><span>The high-quality, chromosome-scale genome of <em>B. tabaci</em> MED </span><span>offered opportunities for more comprehensive genome-wide studies, and provided a solid foundation for the complex introduction events and the differential invasiveness of <em>B. tabaci</em> MED worldwide.</span></p>