{
  "abstract": "Belonogaster is an African genus of primitively eusocial wasps. They are widespread and conspicuous across sub-Saharan Africa and yet are among the least studied groups of social wasps. Here, we present the first high-quality, chromosome-level genome assembly for a representative of this genus, Belonogaster juncea, complemented by an RNA-seq analysis of brain transcription among individuals representing reproductive and non-reproductive castes. The assembled genome spans 315.8 Mb with a scaffold N50 of 7.91 Mb. The annotation contained 15,159 protein-coding genes and 20,046 isoforms, with Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO) completeness of 98.0% for the genome and 97.8% for the annotation. Using this new assembly, we show that the B. juncea genome differs notably from other social wasp genomes: a single satellite repeat makes up a fifth of its chromosome-scale sequence, it has the highest putative chromosome number in a sequenced wasp genome to date, and it shows high levels of syntenic breaks. We find caste neuro-transcription differences between queens and workers, revealing 573 differentially expressed genes (341 worker biased, 232 queen biased), with significant overlap in caste-specific genes when compared to Polistes dominula and Liostenogaster flavolineata. This genomic resource provides a foundation for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying primitive eusociality and social evolution in wasps, and opens up new research opportunities for a genus of little-studied insects from the Global South.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University College London"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 16,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "C. D. R. Wyatt"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Favreau"
    },
    {
      "name": "K. Geist"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. E. Masonbrink"
    },
    {
      "name": "F. Duarte"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. A. Oi"
    },
    {
      "name": "B. A. Taylor"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Tcheutchoua"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Kapmegne"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Cerqueira De Araujo"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Tindo"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. S. Masse"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. Kennedy"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Toth"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Rehan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "S. Sumner"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b3q7b2g5fxp6s.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.16.759595",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.16.759595v1.full",
  "id": "b3q7b2g5fxp6s",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.16.759595v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "genomics"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1311|Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222937677",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.16.759595v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-16",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b3q7b2g5fxp6s.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:28:27Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.16.759595",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.16.759595v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:genomics",
      "subfield": "genetics-genomics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Chromosome-level genome and caste transcriptomes for Africa's most widespread social wasp (Belonogaster juncea) reveal unexpected genomic diversity",
  "title_text": "Chromosome-level genome and caste transcriptomes for Africa's most widespread social wasp (Belonogaster juncea) reveal unexpected genomic diversity",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:28:27Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b3q7b2g5fxp6s",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}