Developing reference quality genome assemblies for row crop pests

Arthropod pest of major row crop, including maize and cotton, can cause significant yield and financially loss to producers. The adaptation of these pest insects to different insecticidal agents and control measures threatens the sustainability of agricultural production, and ultimately human health and wellbeing. Through the Ag100Pest Initiative, high quality genome assemblies have been generated for Helicoverpa zea, Ostrinia nubilalis, and members of the corn rootworm complex, Diabrotica sp. These highly contiguous genomes offer valuable tools for the investigation of ecological and population variation at the genomic scale, the discovery of changes that lead to these pests circumventing current control practices, and the development of novel control measures.