# The miniature genome of broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Tarsonemidae: Acari)

## TL;DR

Scientists sequenced the tiny genome of the broad mite, a harmful pest, revealing unique features like low repeat content and high gene density.

## Contribution

The study reports the third smallest arthropod genome sequenced, with unique genomic features of the broad mite.

## Key findings

- The genome of P. latus is 49.1 Mb, the third smallest among arthropods.
- The genome has low repeat content (5.1%) and high gene density (189.1/Mb).
- It contains 20.3% intronless genes and low microsatellite density (0.63%).

## Abstract

The broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Tarsonemidae: Acari) is a highly polyphagous species that damage plant species spread across 57 different families. This pest has developed high levels of resistance to some commonly used acaricides. In the present investigation, we deciphered the genome information of P. latus by PacBio HiFi sequencing. P. latus is the third smallest arthropod genome sequenced so far with a size of 49.1 Mb. The entire genome was assembled into two contigs. A set of 9,286 protein-coding genes were annotated. Its compact genome size could be credited with multiple features such as very low repeat content (5.1%) due to the lack of proliferation of transposable elements, high gene density (189.1/Mb), more intronless genes (20.3%) and low microsatellite density (0.63%).