The Genome and Population Structure of the Spruce Beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby, 1837), a Transcontinental Pest of North American Spruce.
8 affiliations
- 1Ottawa Plant Lab, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
- 2Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
- 3British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.
- 4Laurentian Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Québec, Québec, Canada.
- 5Département de Biochimie, de Microbiologie et de Bio-Informatique, Faculté des Sciences et de Génie, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada.
- 6British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada.
- 7Pacific Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
- 8Faculty of Environment, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.
Abstract
The spruce bark beetle Dendroctonus rufipennis (Family: Curculionidae; Subfamily Scolytinae) is a major forest insect pest throughout the transcontinental range of spruce species (Picea spp.) in North America. Here, we present an annotated, near chromosome-level, genome assembly of 271 Mb, with 86% of the assembly contained in 16 pseudochromosomes and containing 17,778 predicted gene models. We also annotated 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs in its 19,637 bp mitochondrial genome. In addition, we present the annotated complete nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of an associated endoparasitic nematode, Contortylenchus sp. T'it'q'et (Order: Tylenchida; Family: Allantonematidae). Its nuclear genome assembly was 76.2 Mb, with 99.8% of the assembly contained in nine pseudochromosomes and containing 12,208 predicted gene models. We also annotated 12 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs in its extremely AT-rich, 15,509 bp mitochondrial genome. Population genomic analyses revealed broad consistencies with past microsatellite work, supporting the hypothesis of multiple range expansions from glacial refugia. Our analyses also identified alternate modes of population diversification which suggest that both neutral and non-neutral processes may be shaping current population genetic structure across the spruce beetle range.
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BibTeX
@article{campbell2026genome,
title = {{The Genome and Population Structure of the Spruce Beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby, 1837), a Transcontinental Pest of North American Spruce.}},
author = {Erin O Campbell and Philip D Batista and Véronique Lévesque-Tremblay and Catherine Béliveau and Kathia Bernier and Kateryna Romanenko and Ward B Strong and Katherine P Bleiker and Dezene P W Huber and Christopher I Keeling},
journal = {Molecular ecology resources},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1111/1755-0998.70209},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952392},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Genome and Population Structure of the Spruce Beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby, 1837), a Transcontinental Pest of North American Spruce.
AU - Erin O Campbell
AU - Philip D Batista
AU - Véronique Lévesque-Tremblay
AU - Catherine Béliveau
AU - Kathia Bernier
AU - Kateryna Romanenko
AU - Ward B Strong
AU - Katherine P Bleiker
AU - Dezene P W Huber
AU - Christopher I Keeling
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - Molecular ecology resources
DO - 10.1111/1755-0998.70209
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952392
AB - The spruce bark beetle Dendroctonus rufipennis (Family: Curculionidae; Subfamily Scolytinae) is a major forest insect pest throughout the transcontinental range of spruce species (Picea spp.) in North America. Here, we present an annotated, near chromosome-level, genome assembly of 271 Mb, with 86% of the assembly contained in 16 pseudochromosomes and containing 17,778 predicted gene models. We also annotated 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs in its 19,637 bp mitochondrial genome. In addition, we present the annotated complete nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of an associated endoparasitic nematode, Contortylenchus sp. T'it'q'et (Order: Tylenchida; Family: Allantonematidae). Its nuclear genome assembly was 76.2 Mb, with 99.8% of the assembly contained in nine pseudochromosomes and containing 12,208 predicted gene models. We also annotated 12 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs in its extremely AT-rich, 15,509 bp mitochondrial genome. Population genomic analyses revealed broad consistencies with past microsatellite work, supporting the hypothesis of multiple range expansions from glacial refugia. Our analyses also identified alternate modes of population diversification which suggest that both neutral and non-neutral processes may be shaping current population genetic structure across the spruce beetle range.
SN - 1755-0998
SN - 1755-098X
ER -