Genomic and phylogenetic insights for three species of thrips (Thysanoptera: Terebrantia) associated with Colombian avocado.

Thrips are small, cosmopolitan pests that attack a wide variety of crops, including avocado (Persea americana Mill.), where they feed on the fruit surface, hindering export quality. In Colombia, 7 thrips species have been identified in avocado where Frankliniella gardeniae (Fg) (Moulton, 1948), F. panamensis (Fp) (Hood, 1925), and Scirtothrips hansoni (Sh) (Mound and Hoddle, 2016) are the most abundant. Despite their economic importance, limited genomic and transcriptomic data are available for these pests. Here, we present the first draft genomes of these species and compare them to the reference genome of Frankliniella occidentalis. The mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of the 3 species differ in size and gene order, with F. gardeniae exhibiting the largest mitochondria. Phylogenetic analysis clustered F. gardeniae and F. panamensis together and S. hansoni with S. dorsalis. Genome assembly revealed differences in genome sizes: 397 Mbp (Fp), 454 Mbp (Sh), and 601 Mbp (Fg), with F. gardeniae having the largest genome. Coverage was 118× for S. hansoni and 35× for the other 2 species. S. hansoni showed the highest sequence count and N50 values. BUSCO analysis estimated genome completeness between 96% and 97.95%. Annotated genes shared among these species included insecticide resistance and metabolism, particularly P450 and CYP family genes, as well as chemosensory genes (Ir). They are promising targets for RNA interference-based studies to enhance pest management strategies thus further studies are required in this issue.