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. 2025 Dec 22;10:687. [Version 1] doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.25212.1

The genome sequence of the weevil, Pachyrhinus lethierryi (Desbrochers des Loges, 1875) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Maxwell V L Barclay 1, Michael F Geiser 1; Natural History Museum Genome Acquisition Lab; Darwin Tree of Life Barcoding Collective; Wellcome Sanger Institute Tree of Life Management, Samples and Laboratory team; Wellcome Sanger Institute Scientific Operations: Sequencing Operations; Wellcome Sanger Institute Tree of Life Core Informatics team; Tree of Life Core Informatics collective; Darwin Tree of Life Consortiuma
PMCID: PMC12895101  PMID: 41695298

Abstract

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Pachyrhinus lethierryi (weevil; Arthropoda; Insecta; Coleoptera; Curculionidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 619.57 megabases and 512.45 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (99.88%) is scaffolded into 11 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X sex chromosome. Haplotype 2 was assembled to scaffold level. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 21.74 kilobases. This assembly was generated as part of the Darwin Tree of Life project, which produces reference genomes for eukaryotic species found in Britain and Ireland.

Keywords: Pachyrhinus lethierryi; weevil; genome sequence; chromosomal; Coleoptera

Species taxonomy

Eukaryota; Opisthokonta; Metazoa; Eumetazoa; Bilateria; Protostomia; Ecdysozoa; Panarthropoda; Arthropoda; Mandibulata; Pancrustacea; Hexapoda; Insecta; Dicondylia; Pterygota; Neoptera; Endopterygota; Coleoptera; Polyphaga; Cucujiformia; Curculionoidea; Curculionidae; Entiminae; Polydrusini; Pachyrhinus; Pachyrhinus lethierryi (Desbrochers des Loges, 1875) (NCBI:txid857166)

Background

We present a chromosome-level genome sequence for Pachyrhinus lethierryi. This assembly is the first high‑quality genome for the genus Pachyrhinus as of October 2025 (data obtained via NCBI datasets, O’Leary et al., 2024). It was generated using the Tree of Life pipeline from a specimen collected in Battersea Park, England, United Kingdom ( Figure 1). This assembly was generated as part of the Darwin Tree of Life Project, which aims to generate high-quality reference genomes for all named eukaryotic species in Britain and Ireland to support research, conservation, and the sustainable use of biodiversity ( Darwin Tree of Life Project Consortium, 2022).

Figure 1. Photograph of the Pachyrhinus lethierryi (icPacLeth1) specimen used for genome sequencing.

Figure 1.

Methods

Sample acquisition and DNA barcoding

The specimen used for genome sequencing was an adult male Pachyrhinus lethierryi (specimen ID NHMUK014433272, ToLID icPacLeth1; Figure 1), collected from Battersea Park, England, United Kingdom (latitude 51.48, longitude –0.16) on 2021-05-31. The specimen was collected and identified by Maxwell Barclay. A second specimen was used for Hi-C sequencing (specimen ID NHMUK014441320, ToLID icPacLeth2), collected from Wetherby Gardens, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom (latitude 51.49, longitude –0.185) on 2022-05-25. This specimen was collected and identified by Michael Geiser. The icPacLeth2 specimen was also used for RNA sequencing. Details of the sampling and metadata procedures, which followed recommended standards, are described in Lawniczak et al. (2022).

The initial identification was verified by an additional DNA barcoding process according to the framework developed by Twyford et al. (2024). A small sample was dissected from the specimen and stored in ethanol, while the remaining parts were shipped on dry ice to the Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI) (see the protocol). The tissue was lysed, the COI marker region was amplified by PCR, and amplicons were sequenced and compared to the BOLD database, confirming the species identification ( Crowley et al., 2023). Following whole genome sequence generation, the relevant DNA barcode region was also used alongside the initial barcoding data for sample tracking at the WSI ( Twyford et al., 2024). The standard operating procedures for Darwin Tree of Life barcoding are available on protocols.io.

Nucleic acid extraction

Protocols for high molecular weight (HMW) DNA extraction developed at the Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI) Tree of Life Core Laboratory are available on protocols.io ( Howard et al., 2025). The icPacLeth1 sample was weighed and triaged to determine the appropriate extraction protocol. Tissue from the abdomen was homogenised by powermashing using a PowerMasher II tissue disruptor. HMW DNA was extracted using the Automated MagAttract v2 protocol. DNA was sheared into an average fragment size of 12–20 kb following the Megaruptor®3 for LI PacBio protocol. Sheared DNA was purified by automated SPRI (solid-phase reversible immobilisation). The concentration of the sheared and purified DNA was assessed using a Nanodrop spectrophotometer and Qubit Fluorometer using the Qubit dsDNA High Sensitivity Assay kit. Fragment size distribution was evaluated by running the sample on the FemtoPulse system. For this sample, the final post-shearing DNA had a Qubit concentration of 3.46 ng/μL and a yield of 449.80 ng.

RNA was extracted from whole organism tissue of icPacLeth2 in the Tree of Life Laboratory at the WSI using the RNA Extraction: Automated MagMax™ mirVana protocol. The RNA concentration was assessed using a Nanodrop spectrophotometer and a Qubit Fluorometer using the Qubit RNA Broad-Range Assay kit. Analysis of the integrity of the RNA was done using the Agilent RNA 6000 Pico Kit and Eukaryotic Total RNA assay.

PacBio HiFi library preparation and sequencing

Library preparation and sequencing were performed at the WSI Scientific Operations core. Libraries were prepared using the SMRTbell Prep Kit 3.0 (Pacific Biosciences, California, USA), following the manufacturer’s instructions. The kit includes reagents for end repair/A-tailing, adapter ligation, post-ligation SMRTbell bead clean-up, and nuclease treatment. Size selection and clean-up were performed using diluted AMPure PB beads (Pacific Biosciences). DNA concentration was quantified using a Qubit Fluorometer v4.0 (ThermoFisher Scientific) and the Qubit 1X dsDNA HS assay kit. Final library fragment size was assessed with the Agilent Femto Pulse Automated Pulsed Field CE Instrument (Agilent Technologies) using the gDNA 55 kb BAC analysis kit.

The sample was sequenced on a Revio instrument (Pacific Biosciences). The prepared library was normalised to 2 nM, and 15 μL was used for making complexes. Primers were annealed and polymerases bound to generate circularised complexes, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Complexes were purified using 1.2X SMRTbell beads, then diluted to the Revio loading concentration (200–300 pM) and spiked with a Revio sequencing internal control. The sample was sequenced on a Revio 25M SMRT cell. The SMRT Link software (Pacific Biosciences), a web-based workflow manager, was used to configure and monitor the run and to carry out primary and secondary data analysis.

Hi-C

Sample preparation and crosslinking

The Hi-C sample was prepared from 20–50 mg of frozen tissue from the icPacLeth2 sample using the Arima-HiC v2 kit (Arima Genomics). Following the manufacturer’s instructions, tissue was fixed and DNA crosslinked using TC buffer to a final formaldehyde concentration of 2%. The tissue was homogenised using the Diagnocine Power Masher-II. Crosslinked DNA was digested with a restriction enzyme master mix, biotinylated, and ligated. Clean-up was performed with SPRISelect beads before library preparation. DNA concentration was measured with the Qubit Fluorometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and Qubit HS Assay Kit. The biotinylation percentage was estimated using the Arima-HiC v2 QC beads.

Hi-C library preparation and sequencing

Biotinylated DNA constructs were fragmented using a Covaris E220 sonicator and size selected to 400–600 bp using SPRISelect beads. DNA was enriched with Arima-HiC v2 kit Enrichment beads. End repair, A-tailing, and adapter ligation were carried out with the NEBNext Ultra II DNA Library Prep Kit (New England Biolabs), following a modified protocol where library preparation occurs while DNA remains bound to the Enrichment beads. Library amplification was performed using KAPA HiFi HotStart mix and a custom Unique Dual Index (UDI) barcode set (Integrated DNA Technologies). Depending on sample concentration and biotinylation percentage determined at the crosslinking stage, libraries were amplified with 10–16 PCR cycles. Post-PCR clean-up was performed with SPRISelect beads. Libraries were quantified using the AccuClear Ultra High Sensitivity dsDNA Standards Assay Kit (Biotium) and a FLUOstar Omega plate reader (BMG Labtech).

Prior to sequencing, libraries were normalised to 10 ng/μL. Normalised libraries were quantified again and equimolar and/or weighted 2.8 nM pools were created. Pool concentrations were checked using the Agilent 4200 TapeStation (Agilent) with High Sensitivity D500 reagents before sequencing. Sequencing was performed using paired-end 150 bp reads on the Illumina NovaSeq X.

RNA library preparation and sequencing

Libraries were prepared using the NEBNext ® Ultra™ II Directional RNA Library Prep Kit for Illumina (New England Biolabs), following the manufacturer’s instructions. Poly(A) mRNA in the total RNA solution was isolated using oligo(dT) beads, converted to cDNA, and uniquely indexed; 14 PCR cycles were performed. Libraries were size-selected to produce fragments between 100–300 bp. Libraries were quantified, normalised, pooled to a final concentration of 2.8 nM, and diluted to 150 pM for loading. Sequencing was carried out on the Illumina NovaSeq X to generate 150-bp paired-end reads.

Genome assembly

Prior to assembly of the PacBio HiFi reads, a database of k-mer counts ( k = 31) was generated from the filtered reads using FastK. GenomeScope2 ( Ranallo-Benavidez et al., 2020) was used to analyse the k-mer frequency distributions, providing estimates of genome size, heterozygosity, and repeat content.

The HiFi reads were assembled using Hifiasm in Hi-C phasing mode ( Cheng et al., 2021; Cheng et al., 2022), producing two haplotypes. Hi-C reads ( Rao et al., 2014) were mapped to the primary contigs using bwa-mem2 ( Vasimuddin et al., 2019). Contigs were further scaffolded with Hi-C data in YaHS ( Zhou et al., 2023), using the --break option for handling potential misassemblies. The scaffolded assemblies were evaluated using Gfastats ( Formenti et al., 2022), BUSCO ( Manni et al., 2021) and MERQURY.FK ( Rhie et al., 2020).

The mitochondrial genome was assembled using MitoHiFi ( Uliano-Silva et al., 2023), which runs MitoFinder ( Allio et al., 2020) and uses these annotations to select the final mitochondrial contig and to ensure the general quality of the sequence.

Assembly curation

The assembly was decontaminated using the Assembly Screen for Cobionts and Contaminants ( ASCC) pipeline. TreeVal was used to generate the flat files and maps for use in curation. Manual curation was conducted primarily in PretextView and HiGlass ( Kerpedjiev et al., 2018). Scaffolds were visually inspected and corrected as described by Howe et al. (2021). Manual corrections included 118 breaks and 302 joins. This reduced the scaffold count by 8.7%, increased the scaffold N50 by 1.2%, and increased the total assembly length by 0.7%. The curation process is documented at https://gitlab.com/wtsi-grit/rapid-curation. PretextSnapshot was used to generate a Hi-C contact map of the final assembly.

Assembly quality assessment

The Merqury.FK tool ( Rhie et al., 2020) was run in a Singularity container ( Kurtzer et al., 2017) to evaluate k-mer completeness and assembly quality for both haplotypes using the k-mer databases ( k = 31) computed prior to genome assembly. The analysis outputs included assembly QV scores and completeness statistics.

The genome was analysed using the BlobToolKit pipeline, a Nextflow implementation of the earlier Snakemake version ( Challis et al., 2020). The pipeline aligns PacBio reads using minimap2 ( Li, 2018) and SAMtools ( Danecek et al., 2021) to generate coverage tracks. It runs BUSCO ( Manni et al., 2021) using lineages identified from the NCBI Taxonomy ( Schoch et al., 2020). For the three domain-level lineages, BUSCO genes are aligned to the UniProt Reference Proteomes database ( Bateman et al., 2023) using DIAMOND blastp ( Buchfink et al., 2021). The genome is divided into chunks based on the density of BUSCO genes from the closest taxonomic lineage, and each chunk is aligned to the UniProt Reference Proteomes database with DIAMOND blastx. Sequences without hits are chunked using seqtk and aligned to the NT database with blastn ( Altschul et al., 1990). The BlobToolKit suite consolidates all outputs into a blobdir for visualisation. The BlobToolKit pipeline was developed using nf-core tooling ( Ewels et al., 2020) and MultiQC ( Ewels et al., 2016), with containerisation through Docker ( Merkel, 2014) and Singularity ( Kurtzer et al., 2017).

Genome sequence report

Sequence data

PacBio sequencing of the Pachyrhinus lethierryi specimen generated 54.24 Gb (gigabases) from 5.02 million reads, which were used to assemble the genome. GenomeScope2.0 analysis estimated the haploid genome size at 598.98 Mb, with a heterozygosity of 1.04% and repeat content of 37.19% ( Figure 2). These estimates guided expectations for the assembly. Based on the estimated genome size, the sequencing data provided approximately 89× coverage. Hi-C sequencing produced 550.62 Gb from 3 646.50 million reads, which were used to scaffold the assembly. RNA sequencing data were also generated and are available in public sequence repositories. Table 1 summarises the specimen and sequencing details.

Figure 2. Frequency distribution of k-mers generated using GenomeScope2.

Figure 2.

The plot shows observed and modelled k-mer spectra, providing estimates of genome size, heterozygosity, and repeat content based on unassembled sequencing reads.

Table 1. Specimen and sequencing data for BioProject PRJEB83756.

Platform PacBio HiFi Hi-C RNA-seq
ToLID icPaclefth1 icPaclefth2 icPaclefth2
Specimen ID NHMUK014433272 NHMUK014441320 NHMUK014441320
BioSample (source individual) SAMEA110019314 SAMEA114805937 SAMEA114805937
BioSample (tissue) SAMEA14448771 SAMEA114806136 SAMEA114806136
Tissue abdomen whole organism whole organism
Instrument Revio Illumina NovaSeq X Illumina NovaSeq X
Run accessions ERR14105737 ERR14098260 ERR14792857
Read count total 5.02 million 3 646.50 million 91.81 million
Base count total 54.24 Gb 550.62 Gb 13.86 Gb

Assembly statistics

The genome was assembled into two haplotypes using Hi-C phasing. Haplotype 1 was curated to chromosome level, while haplotype 2 was assembled to scaffold level. The final assembly has a total length of 619.57 Mb in 20 scaffolds, with 161 gaps, and a scaffold N50 of 55.45 Mb ( Table 2).

Table 2. Genome assembly statistics.

Assembly name icPacLeth1.hap1.1 icPacLeth1.hap2.1
Assembly accession GCA_965118235.1 GCA_965118225.1
Assembly level chromosome scaffold
Span (Mb) 619.57 512.45
Number of chromosomes 11 Scaffold-level
Number of contigs 181 2 741
Contig N50 8.13 Mb 0.65 Mb
Number of scaffolds 20 1 379
Scaffold N50 55.45 Mb 43.77 Mb
Longest scaffold length (Mb) 91.52 -
Sex chromosomes X -
Organelles Mitochondrion: 21.74 kb -

Most of the haplotype 1 assembly sequence (99.88%) was assigned to 11 chromosomal-level scaffolds, representing 10 autosomes and the X sex chromosome. These chromosome-level scaffolds, confirmed by Hi-C data, are named according to size ( Figure 3; Table 3). The X chromosome was identified by read coverage and no Y chromosome was found. Closely related species are known to have X0 males.

Figure 3. Hi-C contact map of the Pachyrhinus lethierryi genome assembly.

Figure 3.

Assembled chromosomes are shown in order of size and labelled along the axes, with a megabase scale shown below. The plot was generated using PretextSnapshot.

Table 3. Chromosomal pseudomolecules in the haplotype 1 genome assembly of Pachyrhinus lethierryi icPacLeth1.

INSDC accession Molecule Length (Mb) GC%
OZ221308.1 1 91.52 31.50
OZ221309.1 2 87.14 31.50
OZ221310.1 3 71.19 31.50
OZ221311.1 4 59.56 31.50
OZ221312.1 5 55.45 31.50
OZ221313.1 6 53.32 31.50
OZ221314.1 7 50.10 32
OZ221315.1 8 44.85 32
OZ221316.1 9 37.72 32
OZ221317.1 10 34.15 32
OZ221318.1 X 33.83 31.50

The mitochondrial genome was also assembled (length 21.74 kb, OZ221319.1). This sequence is included as a contig in the multifasta file of the genome submission and as a standalone record.

For haplotype 1, the estimated QV is 67.4, and for haplotype 2, 64.5. When the two haplotypes are combined, the assembly achieves an estimated QV of 65.9. The k-mer completeness is 81.00% for haplotype 1, 64.63% for haplotype 2, and 99.47% for the combined haplotypes ( Figure 4).

Figure 4. Evaluation of k-mer completeness using MerquryFK.

Figure 4.

This plot illustrates the recovery of k-mers from the original read data in the final assemblies. The horizontal axis represents k-mer multiplicity, and the vertical axis shows the number of k-mers. The black curve represents k-mers that appear in the reads but are not assembled. The green curve corresponds to k-mers shared by both haplotypes, and the red and blue curves show k-mers found only in one of the haplotypes.

BUSCO analysis using the endopterygota_odb10 reference set ( n = 2 124) identified 98.9% of the expected gene set (single = 98.1%, duplicated = 0.8%) for haplotype 1. The snail plot in Figure 5 summarises the scaffold length distribution and other assembly statistics for haplotype 1. The blob plot in Figure 6 shows the distribution of scaffolds by GC proportion and coverage for haplotype 1.

Figure 5. Assembly metrics for icPacLeth1.hap1.1.

Figure 5.

The BlobToolKit snail plot provides an overview of assembly metrics and BUSCO gene completeness. The circumference represents the length of the whole genome sequence, and the main plot is divided into 1 000 bins around the circumference. The outermost blue tracks display the distribution of GC, AT, and N percentages across the bins. Scaffolds are arranged clockwise from longest to shortest and are depicted in dark grey. The longest scaffold is indicated by the red arc, and the deeper orange and pale orange arcs represent the N50 and N90 lengths. A light grey spiral at the centre shows the cumulative scaffold count on a logarithmic scale. A summary of complete, fragmented, duplicated, and missing BUSCO genes in the set is presented at the top right. An interactive version of this figure can be accessed on the BlobToolKit viewer.

Figure 6. BlobToolKit GC-coverage plot for icPacLeth1.hap1.1.

Figure 6.

Blob plot showing sequence coverage (vertical axis) and GC content (horizontal axis). The circles represent scaffolds, with the size proportional to scaffold length and the colour representing phylum membership. The histograms along the axes display the total length of sequences distributed across different levels of coverage and GC content. An interactive version of this figure is available on the BlobToolKit viewer.

Table 4 lists the assembly metric benchmarks adapted from Rhie et al. (2021) and the Earth BioGenome Project Report on Assembly Standards September 2024. The EBP metric, calculated for the haplotype 1, is 6.C.Q67, meeting the recommended reference standard.

Table 4. Earth Biogenome Project summary metrics for the Pachyrhinus lethierryi assembly.

Measure Value Benchmark
EBP summary (haplotype 1) 6.C.Q67 6.C.Q40
Contig N50 length 8.13 Mb ≥ 1 Mb
Scaffold N50 length 55.45 Mb = chromosome N50
Consensus quality (QV) Haplotype 1: 67.4; haplotype 2: 64.5; combined: 65.9 ≥ 40
k-mer completeness Haplotype 1: 81.00%; Haplotype 2: 64.63%; combined: 99.47% ≥ 95%
BUSCO C:98.9% [S:98.1%; D:0.8%]; F:0.2%; M:0.9%; n:2 124 S > 90%; D < 5%
Percentage of assembly assigned to chromosomes 99.88% ≥ 90%

Wellcome Sanger Institute – Legal and Governance

The materials that have contributed to this genome note have been supplied by a Darwin Tree of Life Partner. The submission of materials by a Darwin Tree of Life Partner is subject to the ‘Darwin Tree of Life Project Sampling Code of Practice’, which can be found in full on the Darwin Tree of Life website. By agreeing with and signing up to the Sampling Code of Practice, the Darwin Tree of Life Partner agrees they will meet the legal and ethical requirements and standards set out within this document in respect of all samples acquired for, and supplied to, the Darwin Tree of Life Project. Further, the Wellcome Sanger Institute employs a process whereby due diligence is carried out proportionate to the nature of the materials themselves, and the circumstances under which they have been/are to be collected and provided for use. The purpose of this is to address and mitigate any potential legal and/or ethical implications of receipt and use of the materials as part of the research project, and to ensure that in doing so we align with best practice wherever possible. The overarching areas of consideration are:

  • Ethical review of provenance and sourcing of the material

  • Legality of collection, transfer and use (national and international)

Each transfer of samples is further undertaken according to a Research Collaboration Agreement or Material Transfer Agreement entered into by the Darwin Tree of Life Partner, Genome Research Limited (operating as the Wellcome Sanger Institute), and in some circumstances, other Darwin Tree of Life collaborators.

Funding Statement

This work was supported by Wellcome through core funding to the Wellcome Sanger Institute (220540) and the Darwin Tree of Life Discretionary Award [218328, <a href=https://doi.org/10.35802/218328>https://doi.org/10.35802/218328 </a>].

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

[version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Data availability

European Nucleotide Archive: Pachyrhinus lethierryi. Accession number PRJEB83756. The genome sequence is released openly for reuse. The Pachyrhinus lethierryi genome sequencing initiative is part of the Darwin Tree of Life Project (PRJEB40665) and the Sanger Institute Tree of Life Programme (PRJEB43745). All raw sequence data and the assembly have been deposited in INSDC databases. The genome will be annotated using available RNA-Seq data and presented through the Ensembl pipeline at the European Bioinformatics Institute. Raw data and assembly accession identifiers are reported in Table 1 and Table 2.

Production code used in genome assembly at the WSI Tree of Life is available at https://github.com/sanger-tol. Table 5 lists software versions used in this study.

Table 5. Software versions and sources.

Software Version Source
BEDTools 2.30.0 https://github.com/arq5x/bedtools2
BLAST 2.14.0 ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast/executables/blast+/
BlobToolKit 4.3.9 https://github.com/blobtoolkit/blobtoolkit
BUSCO 5.5.0 https://gitlab.com/ezlab/busco
bwa-mem2 2.2.1 https://github.com/bwa-mem2/bwa-mem2
Cooler 0.8.11 https://github.com/open2c/cooler
DIAMOND 2.1.8 https://github.com/bbuchfink/diamond
fasta_windows 0.2.4 https://github.com/tolkit/fasta_windows
FastK 1.1 https://github.com/thegenemyers/FASTK
GenomeScope2.0 2.0.1 https://github.com/tbenavi1/genomescope2.0
Gfastats 1.3.6 https://github.com/vgl-hub/gfastats
Hifiasm 0.19.8-r603 https://github.com/chhylp123/hifiasm
HiGlass 1.13.4 https://github.com/higlass/higlass
MerquryFK 1.1.2 https://github.com/thegenemyers/MERQURY.FK
Minimap2 2.24-r1122 https://github.com/lh3/minimap2
MitoHiFi 3 https://github.com/marcelauliano/MitoHiFi
MultiQC 1.14; 1.17 and 1.18 https://github.com/MultiQC/MultiQC
Nextflow 23.10.0 https://github.com/nextflow-io/nextflow
PretextSnapshot 0.0.5 https://github.com/sanger-tol/PretextSnapshot
PretextView 0.2.5 https://github.com/sanger-tol/PretextView
samtools 1.19.2 https://github.com/samtools/samtools
sanger-tol/ascc 0.1.0 https://github.com/sanger-tol/ascc
sanger-tol/blobtoolkit 0.6.0 https://github.com/sanger-tol/blobtoolkit
sanger-tol/curationpretext 1.4.2 https://github.com/sanger-tol/curationpretext
Seqtk 1.3 https://github.com/lh3/seqtk
Singularity 3.9.0 https://github.com/sylabs/singularity
TreeVal 1.4.0 https://github.com/sanger-tol/treeval
YaHS 1.2.2 https://github.com/c-zhou/yahs

Author information

Contributors are listed at the following links:

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Wellcome Open Res. 2026 Feb 11. doi: 10.21956/wellcomeopenres.27788.r145519

Reviewer response for version 1

Hong Pang 1

I have carefully read through this paper on the genome of  Pachyrhinus lethierryi. Overall, this work is excellent, with an extremely meticulous approach to genome assembly—one that we can also reference in our future genome assembly projects.

The authors generated the genome of  Pachyrhinus lethierryi using third-generation sequencing technologies, namely PacBio HiFi and Hi-C. Haplotype 1 was assembled to the chromosomal level, and assessments including k-mer completeness, QV value, and the BUSCO result (comp.=98.9%) all confirm that this represents a high-quality genome assembly, which lays a solid foundation for subsequent genomic analyses.

Are sufficient details of methods and materials provided to allow replication by others?

Yes

Is the rationale for creating the dataset(s) clearly described?

Yes

Are the datasets clearly presented in a useable and accessible format?

Yes

Are the protocols appropriate and is the work technically sound?

Yes

Reviewer Expertise:

Systematic classification of Coleoptera, biological control, population genetics and resource utilization of ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae).

I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard.

Wellcome Open Res. 2026 Jan 22. doi: 10.21956/wellcomeopenres.27788.r143980

Reviewer response for version 1

Liang Lü 1

The manuscript presents the first high‑quality genome for the weevil genus Pachyrhinus. While the study follows a fairly standard format for reporting an NGS assembly, it is strengthened by the inclusion of clear taxonomic, biological, and collection details, as well as high‑quality images that support the reliability of species identification. The workflows for sample preparation, DNA extraction, sequencing, and assembly are consistent with established practices, including those used by the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

I have two specific points that I would like the authors to address:

1. BUSCO assessment – Why was OrthoDB version 10 used rather than the more recent version 12? The latter includes a “Coleoptera” lineage dataset, which would provide a more appropriate reference set than “Endopterygota.”

2. Genome annotation – Given the availability of high‑quality long‑read data, annotation would be both feasible and highly valuable. A benchmarking annotation would significantly enhance the utility of this genome for future users and downstream analyses.

Are sufficient details of methods and materials provided to allow replication by others?

Yes

Is the rationale for creating the dataset(s) clearly described?

Yes

Are the datasets clearly presented in a useable and accessible format?

Yes

Are the protocols appropriate and is the work technically sound?

Yes

Reviewer Expertise:

entomology, nematology, phylogenomics, molecular clock analysis

I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard.

Associated Data

    This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

    Data Availability Statement

    European Nucleotide Archive: Pachyrhinus lethierryi. Accession number PRJEB83756. The genome sequence is released openly for reuse. The Pachyrhinus lethierryi genome sequencing initiative is part of the Darwin Tree of Life Project (PRJEB40665) and the Sanger Institute Tree of Life Programme (PRJEB43745). All raw sequence data and the assembly have been deposited in INSDC databases. The genome will be annotated using available RNA-Seq data and presented through the Ensembl pipeline at the European Bioinformatics Institute. Raw data and assembly accession identifiers are reported in Table 1 and Table 2.

    Production code used in genome assembly at the WSI Tree of Life is available at https://github.com/sanger-tol. Table 5 lists software versions used in this study.

    Table 5. Software versions and sources.

    Software Version Source
    BEDTools 2.30.0 https://github.com/arq5x/bedtools2
    BLAST 2.14.0 ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast/executables/blast+/
    BlobToolKit 4.3.9 https://github.com/blobtoolkit/blobtoolkit
    BUSCO 5.5.0 https://gitlab.com/ezlab/busco
    bwa-mem2 2.2.1 https://github.com/bwa-mem2/bwa-mem2
    Cooler 0.8.11 https://github.com/open2c/cooler
    DIAMOND 2.1.8 https://github.com/bbuchfink/diamond
    fasta_windows 0.2.4 https://github.com/tolkit/fasta_windows
    FastK 1.1 https://github.com/thegenemyers/FASTK
    GenomeScope2.0 2.0.1 https://github.com/tbenavi1/genomescope2.0
    Gfastats 1.3.6 https://github.com/vgl-hub/gfastats
    Hifiasm 0.19.8-r603 https://github.com/chhylp123/hifiasm
    HiGlass 1.13.4 https://github.com/higlass/higlass
    MerquryFK 1.1.2 https://github.com/thegenemyers/MERQURY.FK
    Minimap2 2.24-r1122 https://github.com/lh3/minimap2
    MitoHiFi 3 https://github.com/marcelauliano/MitoHiFi
    MultiQC 1.14; 1.17 and 1.18 https://github.com/MultiQC/MultiQC
    Nextflow 23.10.0 https://github.com/nextflow-io/nextflow
    PretextSnapshot 0.0.5 https://github.com/sanger-tol/PretextSnapshot
    PretextView 0.2.5 https://github.com/sanger-tol/PretextView
    samtools 1.19.2 https://github.com/samtools/samtools
    sanger-tol/ascc 0.1.0 https://github.com/sanger-tol/ascc
    sanger-tol/blobtoolkit 0.6.0 https://github.com/sanger-tol/blobtoolkit
    sanger-tol/curationpretext 1.4.2 https://github.com/sanger-tol/curationpretext
    Seqtk 1.3 https://github.com/lh3/seqtk
    Singularity 3.9.0 https://github.com/sylabs/singularity
    TreeVal 1.4.0 https://github.com/sanger-tol/treeval
    YaHS 1.2.2 https://github.com/c-zhou/yahs

    Articles from Wellcome Open Research are provided here courtesy of The Wellcome Trust

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