Genomic insight into the scale specialization of the biological control agent Novius pumilus (Weise, 1892)

Members of the genus Novius Mulsant, 1846 (= Rodolia Mulsant, 1850) (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), play important roles in the biological control of cotton cushion scale pests, especially those belonging to Icerya. Since the best-known species, the vedalia beetle Novius cardinalis (Mulsant, 1850) was introduced into California from Australia, more than a century of successful use in classical biological control, some species of Novius have begun to exhibit some field adaptations to novel but related prey species. Despite their economic importance, relatively little is known about the underlying genetic adaptations associated with their feeding habits. Knowledge of the genome sequence of Novius is a major step towards further understanding its biology and potential applications in pest control.

We report the first high-quality genome sequence for Novius pumilus (Weise, 1892), a representative specialist of Novius. Computational Analysis of gene Family Evolution (CAFE) analysis showed that several orthogroups encoding chemosensors, digestive, and immunity-related enzymes were significantly expanded (P < 0.05) in N. pumilus compared to the published genomes of other four ladybirds. Furthermore, some of these orthogroups were under significant positive selection pressure (P < 0.05). Notably, transcriptome profiling demonstrated that many genes among the significantly expanded and positively selected orthogroups, as well as genes related to detoxification were differentially expressed, when N. pumilus feeding on the nature prey Icerya compared with the no feeding set. We speculate that these genes are vital in the Icerya adaptation of Novius species.

We report the first Novius genome thus far. In addition, we provide comprehensive transcriptomic resources for N. pumilus. The results from this study may be helpful for understanding the association of the evolution of genes related to chemosensing, digestion, detoxification and immunity with the prey adaptation of insect predators. This will provide a reference for future research and utilization of Novius in biological control programs. Moreover, understanding the possible molecular mechanisms of prey adaptation also inform mass rearing of N. pumilus and other Novius, which may benefit pest control.