Genome assembly of the grassland caterpillar Gynaephora qinghaiensis

The grassland caterpillars are the most damaging insect pests to the alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China. In this study, we present a genome assembly of one grassland caterpillar Gynaephora qinghaiensis by using Oxford Nanopore long-read and BGI short-read sequencing. The genome assembly of 861.04 Mb in size consists of 107 contigs, with a contig N50 size of 18.65 Mb. The BUSCO analysis revealed the presence of 99.56% (99.27% complete and 0.29% fragmented) BUSCO genes in the assembly. 580.2 Mb (67.4% of genome) of repetitive sequences and 16,618 protein-coding genes were predicted in G. qinghaiensis genome. Phylogenomic analysis indicated that G. qinghaiensis and the rusty tussock moth Orgyia antiqua diverged approximately 18.3 million years ago. Moreover, gene family evolution analysis suggested that 130 gene families significantly expanded and 43 contracted in the G. qinghaiensis genome. The availability of the reference genome could provide genetic resources to uncover adaptive evolutionary mechanisms of grassland caterpillars to high-altitude environments and contributes to the development of integrated pest management strategies.