D3452: A high-quality, long-read genome assembly of the whitelined sphinx moth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae: Hyles lineata)

The sphinx moth genus Hyles comprises 29 described species inhabiting all continents except Antarctica. The genus diverged relatively recently (40-25 mya), arising in the Americas and rapidly establishing a cosmopolitan distribution. Hyles lineata represents the oldest extant lineage of this group. While exhibiting the large body size and adept flight control characteristic of Sphingidae, H. lineata is particularly notorious for extensive larval color variation and broad host plant use, traits that are relatively unique within the genus and family. These qualities, in combination with its broad distribution and relative abundance within its range, have made H. lineata a strong model organism for studying phenotypic plasticity, plant-herbivore interactions, physiological ecology, and the neuroethology of flight control. Despite being one of the most well-studied sphinx moths, little data exists on genetic variation or regulation of gene expression. Here we provide an important first characterization to facilitate such studies, a high-quality draft genome assembled from long reads sequenced using PacBio HiFi Sequel IIe technology. To encourage the dissemination of methods, we provide a detailed description of our processes for DNA isolation, genome assembly, and annotation. Our assembly shows high contiguity (N50 of 14.1 Mb) and completeness (99.2% of Lepidoptera BUSCO genes). Given the phylogenetic position and importance of H. lineata as a model, a high-quality genome will provide novel avenues to study mechanisms of trait plasticity and behavioral variation in this species.