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PreprintCC BYbioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

338 coleopteran genomes reveal exceptional rearrangement variation compared to other insect orders

  • Arif Maulana1,2
  • Aleksandra Bliznina2
  • Sam Ebdon2
  • Jessica A. Thomas2
  • Julia Gries2,3
  • Karin Näsvall2
  • Duane D. McKenna4,5
  • Ksenia Krasheninnikova2
  • Camilla A. Santos2
  • Karen Brooks2
  • Dominic E. Absolon2
  • Danil Zilov2
2 more authors
  • Kamil S. Jaroň2
  • Joana I. Meier6,2
6 affiliations
  1. 1Darwin College, University of Cambridge; Silver Street, Cambridge CB3 9EU, United Kingdom
  2. 2Tree of Life Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute; Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, United Kingdom
  3. 3Trinity College, University of Cambridge; Trinity Street, Cambridge CB2 1TQ, United Kingdom
  4. 4Center for Biodiversity Research, University of Memphis; Memphis TN 38152, United States of America
  5. 5Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis; Memphis TN 38152, United States of America
  6. 6Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge; Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
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Abstract

Chromosomal rearrangements reshape genome architecture, but rate variation across the tree of life remains poorly understood. Analysing 338 beetle (Coleoptera) genomes, we inferred eight ancestral linkage groups. No species retained these linkage groups, whereas the most frequent karyotypes of 10 or 11 chromosomes evolved at least 65 times through independent rearrangements. Rearrangement rates vary widely across lineages, with exceptionally high rates associated with major species radiations. Comparisons to 340 fly and 210 butterfly and moth genomes reveal the highest rates of long-term persistent rearrangements in beetles and that the beetle X chromosome traces back to the ancestor of Holometabola. We identified frequent X chromosome changes, mostly representing recent autosomal-X fusions, but no fissions. For autosomes, key rearrangement predictors include chromosome size, repeats and centromere position.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{maulana2026coleopteran,
  title = {{338 coleopteran genomes reveal exceptional rearrangement variation compared to other insect orders}},
  author = {Arif Maulana and Aleksandra Bliznina and Sam Ebdon and Jessica A. Thomas and Julia Gries and Karin Näsvall and Duane D. McKenna and Ksenia Krasheninnikova and Camilla A. Santos and Karen Brooks and Dominic E. Absolon and Danil Zilov and Kamil S. Jaroň and Joana I. Meier},
  howpublished = {bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.64898/2026.07.17.739156},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.17.739156},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - 338 coleopteran genomes reveal exceptional rearrangement variation compared to other insect orders
AU  - Arif Maulana
AU  - Aleksandra Bliznina
AU  - Sam Ebdon
AU  - Jessica A. Thomas
AU  - Julia Gries
AU  - Karin Näsvall
AU  - Duane D. McKenna
AU  - Ksenia Krasheninnikova
AU  - Camilla A. Santos
AU  - Karen Brooks
AU  - Dominic E. Absolon
AU  - Danil Zilov
AU  - Kamil S. Jaroň
AU  - Joana I. Meier
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/22
PB  - bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
DO  - 10.64898/2026.07.17.739156
UR  - https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.17.739156
AB  - Chromosomal rearrangements reshape genome architecture, but rate variation across the tree of life remains poorly understood. Analysing 338 beetle (Coleoptera) genomes, we inferred eight ancestral linkage groups. No species retained these linkage groups, whereas the most frequent karyotypes of 10 or 11 chromosomes evolved at least 65 times through independent rearrangements. Rearrangement rates vary widely across lineages, with exceptionally high rates associated with major species radiations. Comparisons to 340 fly and 210 butterfly and moth genomes reveal the highest rates of long-term persistent rearrangements in beetles and that the beetle X chromosome traces back to the ancestor of Holometabola. We identified frequent X chromosome changes, mostly representing recent autosomal-X fusions, but no fissions. For autosomes, key rearrangement predictors include chromosome size, repeats and centromere position.
ER  -