The genome sequence of the Violet Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa violacea (Linnaeus, 1785): a hymenopteran species undergoing range expansion.

Abstract We present a reference genome assembly from an individual male Violet Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa violacea, Linnaeus, 1758). The assembly is 1.02 gigabases in span. 48% of the assembly is scaffolded into 17 pseudo-chromosomal units. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 21.8 kilobases in length. The genome is highly repetitive, likely representing a highly heterochromatic architecture expected of bees from the genus Xylocopa. We also use an evidence-based methodology to annotate 10,152 high confidence coding genes. This genome was sequenced as part of the pilot project of the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) and represents an important addition to the genomic resources available for Hymenoptera. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Footnotes Data Availability Statement:The data underlying this article are available in the European Nucleotide Archive and can be accessed with the BioProject identifier PRJEB72102. The assembly is available through GenBank under the accession GCA_963969225.1. Revised to include reviewer comments following review at Heredity. Analysis of repeat content added. Table S1 moved to main text Other minor additions and typo corrections