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. 2026 Feb 5;11:26. Originally published 2026 Jan 12. [Version 2] doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.25183.2

The genome sequence of the Bicolour Sedge, Triaenodes bicolor (Curtis, 1834) (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae)

Derek Coleman 1, Maja Hrynowiecka 2; 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: PMC12993304  PMID: 41852352

Version Changes

Revised. Amendments from Version 1

We have replaced the snail plot in Figure 5 with a corrected version, as the static image was different to the hosted version at https://blobtoolkit.genomehubs.org/view/Triaenodes%20bicolor/dataset/GCA_964276685.1/snail.

Abstract

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Triaenodes bicolor (Bicolour Sedge; Arthropoda; Insecta; Trichoptera; Leptoceridae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 615.75 megabases and 613.86 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (99.48%) is scaffolded into 21 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. Haplotype 2 was assembled to scaffold level. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 16.2 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: Triaenodes bicolor; Bicolour Sedge; genome sequence; chromosomal; Trichoptera

Species taxonomy

Eukaryota; Opisthokonta; Metazoa; Eumetazoa; Bilateria; Protostomia; Ecdysozoa; Panarthropoda; Arthropoda; Mandibulata; Pancrustacea; Hexapoda; Insecta; Dicondylia; Pterygota; Neoptera; Endopterygota; Amphiesmenoptera; Trichoptera; Integripalpia; Brevitentoria; Leptoceroidea; Leptoceridae; Leptocerinae; Triaenodini; Triaenodes; Triaenodes bicolor (Curtis, 1834) (NCBI:txid699847)

Background

Triaenodes bicolor (Curtis, 1834) is a caddisfly species in the family Leptoceridae, commonly known as the ‘Bicolour Sedge’, or ‘Angler’s Bicolour Sedge’ due to contrasting chestnut forewings and dark grey hind wings, and its use by the fishing community as bait ( Barnard & Ross, 2012). The Leptoceridae are nicknamed the Long-horned Caddisflies for possessing long antennae that are often longer than twice the length of the forewings ( Crofts, 2019).

This species is widespread across Britain & Ireland, and across much of mainland Europe, particularly northern Europe ( GBIF Secretariat, 2025), and is one of two Triaenodes species present in Britain. The other, T. ochreellus, has rare sightings, no current UK breeding site and the adult is distinguished from T. bicolor by its bright yellow wings ( Wallace et al., 2022).

An adult T. bicolor has its flight period between May and September. During this time, it can be found around slow-flowing waters such as ponds, lakes, slow rivers, and permanently wet fens, where it is an important food source for fish such as trout ( Barnard & Ross, 2012; Crofts, 2019). It can be identified by its long brown antennae that are annulated with white, in addition to its chestnut forewings and grey hindwings that are only noticeable from the side. The length of its wings ranges from 6–10 mm, with the wings of the female being notably larger by 1–3 mm. Furthermore, the abdomen of a female is larger and more robust, possessing two large lateral valves in contrast to the thin abdomen of a male ( Barnard & Ross, 2012; McLachlan, 1867).

T. bicolor larvae occur in lakes and ponds with rich aquatic vegetation. They are easily distinguishable due to their swimming behaviour that is facilitated by metathoracic legs with fringed hairs which allow them to propel themselves with their case through the water. Cases are long and tapering, made up of consistently shaped pieces of leaf or small whole leaves in a spiral whorl, reaching 35 mm in length while the larva itself reaches 12–13 mm in length ( Hickin, 1946).

This species can be easily confused with Adicella reducta, Oecetis furva and Athripsodes aterrimus (pale form) as a result of their similar colouring, however A. reducta has a pale patch on its wings, O. furva does not have a raised tornus and A. aterrimus has an obvious pale spot at the arculus ( Wallace et al., 2022).

There are no other known reported genome sequences of T. bicolor, and this one generated as part of the Darwin Tree of Life project will aid in understanding the biology, physiology, and ecology of the species. The assembly was produced using the Tree of Life pipeline from a specimen collected in Thompson Common, Norfolk, UK ( Figure 1).

Figure 1. Photograph of the Triaenodes bicolor (iiTriBico1) specimen used for genome sequencing.

Figure 1.

Methods

Sample acquisition and DNA barcoding

The specimen used for genome sequencing was an adult male Triaenodes bicolor (specimen ID NHMUK015059315, ToLID iiTriBico1; Figure 1), collected from Thompson Common, Norfolk, UK (latitude 52.53, longitude 0.85) on 2022-07-06. The specimen was collected and identified by Derek Coleman. For the Darwin Tree of Life sampling and metadata approach, refer to 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 iiTriBico1 sample was weighed and triaged to determine the appropriate extraction protocol. Tissue from the whole organism was homogenised by powermashing using a PowerMasher II tissue disruptor.

HMW DNA was extracted in the WSI Scientific Operations core using the Automated MagAttract v2 protocol. We used centrifuge-mediated fragmentation to produce DNA fragments in the 8–10 kb range, following the Covaris g-TUBE protocol for ultra-low input (ULI). Sheared DNA was purified by manual 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 3.67 ng/μL and a yield of 172.49 ng, with a fragment size of 13.4 kb. The 260/280 spectrophotometric ratio was 2.13, and the 260/230 ratio was 6.93.

PacBio HiFi library preparation and sequencing

Library preparation and sequencing were performed at the WSI Scientific Operations core. Prior to library preparation, the DNA was fragmented to ~10 kb. Ultra-low-input (ULI) libraries were prepared using the PacBio SMRTbell® Express Template Prep Kit 2.0 and gDNA Sample Amplification Kit. Samples were normalised to 20 ng DNA. Single-strand overhang removal, DNA damage repair, and end-repair/A-tailing were performed according to the manufacturer’s instructions, followed by adapter ligation. A 0.85× pre-PCR clean-up was carried out with Promega ProNex beads.

The DNA was evenly divided into two aliquots for dual PCR (reactions A and B), both following the manufacturer’s protocol. A 0.85× post-PCR clean-up was performed with ProNex beads. DNA concentration was measured using a Qubit Fluorometer v4.0 (Thermo Fisher Scientific) with the Qubit HS Assay Kit, and fragment size was assessed on an Agilent Femto Pulse Automated Pulsed Field CE Instrument (Agilent Technologies) using the gDNA 55 kb BAC analysis kit. PCR reactions A and B were then pooled, ensuring a total mass of ≥500 ng in 47.4 μl.

The pooled sample underwent another round of DNA damage repair, end-repair/A-tailing, and hairpin adapter ligation. A 1× clean-up was performed with ProNex beads, followed by DNA quantification using the Qubit and fragment size analysis using the Agilent Femto Pulse. Size selection was performed on the Sage Sciences PippinHT system, with target fragment size determined by Femto Pulse analysis (typically 4–9 kb). Size-selected libraries were cleaned with 1.0× ProNex beads and normalised to 2 nM before sequencing.

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 iiTriBico1 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 6000.

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 29 breaks, 37 joins, and removal of 19 haplotypic duplications. 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 database ( 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 Triaenodes bicolor specimen generated 23.00 Gb (gigabases) from 2.10 million reads, which were used to assemble the genome. GenomeScope2.0 analysis estimated the haploid genome size at 581.46 Mb, with a heterozygosity of 1.14% and repeat content of 14.73% ( Figure 2). These estimates guided expectations for the assembly. Based on the estimated genome size, the sequencing data provided approximately 37× coverage. Hi-C sequencing produced 159.96 Gb from 1 059.36 million reads, which were used to scaffold the assembly. 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 PRJEB79787.

Platform PacBio HiFi Hi-C
ToLID iiTriBico1 iiTriBico1
Specimen ID NHMUK015059315 NHMUK015059315
BioSample (source individual) SAMEA112963035 SAMEA112963035
BioSample (tissue) SAMEA112963128 SAMEA112963128
Tissue whole organism whole organism
Instrument Revio Illumina NovaSeq 6000
Run accessions ERR13650042 ERR13654253
Read count total 2.10 million 1 059.36 million
Base count total 23.00 Gb 159.96 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 615.75 Mb in 182 scaffolds, with 1 456 gaps, and a scaffold N50 of 29.5 Mb ( Table 2).

Table 2. Genome assembly statistics.

Assembly name iiTriBico1.hap1.1 iiTriBico1.hap2.1
Assembly accession GCA_964276685.1 GCA_964276555.1
Assembly level chromosome scaffold
Span (Mb) 615.75 613.86
Number of chromosomes 21 Scaffold-level
Number of contigs 1 638 1 637
Contig N50 0.71 Mb 0.67 Mb
Number of scaffolds 182 152
Scaffold N50 29.5 Mb 30.65 Mb
Longest scaffold length (Mb) 49.48 -
Sex chromosomes Z -
Organelles Mitochondrion: 16.2 kb -

Most of the assembly sequence (99.48%) was assigned to 21 chromosomal-level scaffolds, representing 20 autosomes and the Z sex chromosome. These chromosome-level scaffolds, confirmed by Hi-C data, are named according to size ( Figure 3; Table 3). The Z chromosome was identified by alignment to Ceraclea dissimilis (GCA_963576895.1).

Figure 3. Hi-C contact map of the Triaenodes bicolor 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 Triaenodes bicolor iiTriBico1.

INSDC accession Molecule Length (Mb) GC%
OZ194524.1 1 49.48 32
OZ194525.1 2 36.60 31
OZ194527.1 3 35.81 31.50
OZ194528.1 4 35.76 32.50
OZ194529.1 5 35.36 31.50
OZ194530.1 6 34.59 31.50
OZ194531.1 7 30.48 31.50
OZ194532.1 8 29.50 31.50
OZ194533.1 9 28.58 31.50
OZ194534.1 10 27.05 31.50
OZ194535.1 11 27.01 32
OZ194536.1 12 26.58 31.50
OZ194537.1 13 25.87 32
OZ194538.1 14 25.29 31.50
OZ194539.1 15 23.08 32
OZ194540.1 16 22.84 32
OZ194541.1 17 22.73 32
OZ194542.1 18 22.18 32
OZ194543.1 19 20.85 32
OZ194544.1 20 16.51 33
OZ194526.1 Z 36.38 31

The mitochondrial genome was also assembled. 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 61.0, and for haplotype 2, 61.0. When the two haplotypes are combined, the assembly achieves an estimated QV of 61.0. The k-mer completeness is 79.35% for haplotype 1, 79.24% for haplotype 2, and 99.67% 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 96.1% of the expected gene set (single = 94.8%, duplicated = 1.3%) 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 iiTriBico1.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 iiTriBico1.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 5.C.Q61.

Table 4. Earth Biogenome Project summary metrics for the Triaenodes bicolor assembly.

Measure Value Benchmark
EBP summary (haplotype 1) 5.C.Q61 6.C.Q40
Contig N50 length 0.71 Mb ≥ 1 Mb
Scaffold N50 length 29.50 Mb = chromosome N50
Consensus quality (QV) Haplotype 1: 61.0; haplotype 2: 61.0; combined: 61.0 ≥ 40
k-mer completeness Haplotype 1: 79.35%; Haplotype 2: 79.24%;
combined: 99.67%
≥ 95%
BUSCO C:96.1% [S:94.8%; D:1.3%]; F:2.0%; M:1.9%; n:2 124 S > 90%; D < 5%
Percentage of assembly assigned
to chromosomes
99.48% ≥ 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 2; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]

Data availability

European Nucleotide Archive: Triaenodes bicolor. Accession number PRJEB79787. The genome sequence is released openly for reuse. The Triaenodes bicolor 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 - 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 1.2a.2 https://github.com/c-zhou/yahs

Author information

Contributors are listed at the following links:

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Wellcome Open Res. 2026 Mar 16. doi: 10.21956/wellcomeopenres.28591.r148667

Reviewer response for version 2

Ricardo Rodriguez-de-la-vega 1

Comments on Coleman and Hrynowiecka "The genome sequence of the Bicolour Sedge..."

In this Darwin Tree of Life (DToL) project genome note, authors describe the chromosome-level fully phased genome assemblies of a male Triaenodes bicolor. Raw data included HiFi and Arima-HiC v2 reads obtained with standard protocols of the Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI) from the same specimen. The overall assembly protocol followed established methods of the WSI Tree of Life programme, including HiC-integrated hifiasm assembly, bwa-mem2 HiC mapping and YaHS scaffolding. The reported assemblies are among the highest quality among DToL releases, particulary in terms of the almost perfect assignment to chromosomal-level scaffolds for both haplotypes.

At the time of publication, this was the 13th Trichoptera genome released by the DToL project and the first after a hiatus of over one year. The assembly presented attained a chromosome level while the other haplotype remains at the scaffold level, though the quality metrics are nearly identical. Haplotype 2 have some very large scaffolds, likely due to misjoins that may have been corrected in Haplotype 1 (manual curation is not explicitly mentioned but is common in DToL assemblies).

One final observation:  most chromosomes in the primary assembly align to a single scaffold in the alternate haplotype assembly (using minimap2 -cx asm5), with over 90% of their length included in matching blocks. The alternate haplotype is of comparable quality to the primary assembly, though the misjoins should be addressed for downstream applications.

I am including the links to Genomes on a Tree and Tree of Life quality check pages as I think are useful points to access the numerous underlying data analyses.

(refer to 1,2)

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:

Genomics, Bioinformatics, Evolution

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.

References

  • 1. https://goat.genomehubs.org/record?recordId.
  • 2. https://tolqc.cog.sanger.ac.uk/darwin/insects/Triaenodes_bicolor/.
Wellcome Open Res. 2026 Mar 6. doi: 10.21956/wellcomeopenres.28591.r149462

Reviewer response for version 2

Michael Hiller 1

The data note describes a high-quality chromosome-level assembly of Triaenodes bicolor. 

All sequencing and assembly methods are described in great detail. 

My only comment is that the contig N50 is <1 Mb, which is likely the result of GC-dependent amplification bias of the polymerases used in the original ULI protocol. I wonder if it was necessary to use the ULI protocol on a species of that size? 

As a note, the identity of the A and B polymerases in the original ULI protocol are now known: NEBNext® High-Fidelity 2X PCR Master Mix (PacBio Ultra-Low DNA Input A) and TaKaRa Bio PrimeSTAR® GXL DNA Polymerase (PacBio Ultra-Low DNA Input B).

This could be potentially added.

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:

comparative genomics, genome assembly

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 28. doi: 10.21956/wellcomeopenres.27758.r144952

Reviewer response for version 1

Christophe Klopp 1

The authors provide the first assembly of Bicolour Sedge, Triaenodes bicolor. They have used strandard procotols mixing HifI and Hi-C data and have achieved a very contiguous haplotyped assemblies.

The busco scores presented in the snail plot seem strange because usually complete + fragmented + missing = 100%. This is not the case here. This should be checked.

The genomescope2 and merqury kmers histograms do not present the same balance between haplotype specific and shared kmers. This is not expected. This should be checked and explained.

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:

Genome assembly and annotation

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, however I have significant reservations, as outlined above.

Wellcome Open Res. 2026 Jan 28.
Tree of Life Team Sanger 1

Thank you for reviewing this article. The BUSCO values reported in the text and shown in the hosted (interactive) version of the snail plot are C: 96.1% [S: 94.8%; D: 1.3%]; F: 2.0%; M: 1.9%; n = 2,124, which sum to 100%.

We identified that the static image of the snail plot originally included in the manuscript did not reflect the current BUSCO values for this dataset. This figure has now been replaced with a corrected version. GenomeScope2 analyses read-derived k-mer multiplicity and does not use the assembly. It models k-mer frequencies from the raw sequencing reads to infer genome properties such as heterozygosity and repeat content statistically. In contrast, MerquryFK evaluates assembly-derived haplotypes by partitioning read k-mers according to their presence in the assembled sequences. As these analyses use different inputs and address different questions, the relative proportions of inferred heterozygous k-mers in GenomeScope2 and haplotype-specific k-mers in MerquryFK are not expected to match. The correspondence between the heterozygous and homozygous coverage peaks inferred by GenomeScope2 and the haplotype-specific and shared peaks observed in MerquryFK nevertheless indicates consistency between the two analyses.

Associated Data

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

    Data Availability Statement

    European Nucleotide Archive: Triaenodes bicolor. Accession number PRJEB79787. The genome sequence is released openly for reuse. The Triaenodes bicolor 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 - 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 1.2a.2 https://github.com/c-zhou/yahs

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