The MetaInvert soil invertebrate genome resource provides insights into below-ground biodiversity and evolution
Gemma E Collins, Clément Schneider, Ljudevit Luka Boštjančić, Ulrich Burkhardt, Axel Christian, Peter Decker, Ingo Ebersberger, Karin Hohberg, Odile Lecompte, Dominik Merges, Hannah Muelbaier, Juliane Romahn, Jörg Römbke, Christelle Rutz, Rüdiger M. Schmelz, A. H. SCHMIDT, Kathrin Theißinger, Róbert Veres, Ricarda Lehmitz, Markus Pfenninger, Miklós Bálint
Abstract
Soil invertebrates are among the least understood metazoans on Earth. Thus far, the lack of taxonomically broad and dense genomic resources has made it hard to thoroughly investigate their evolution and ecology. With MetaInvert we provide draft genome assemblies for 232 soil invertebrate species, representing 14 common groups and 94 families. We show that this data substantially extends the taxonomic scope of DNA- or RNA-based taxonomic identification. Moreover, we confirm that theories of genome evolution cannot be generalised across evolutionarily distinct invertebrate groups. The soil invertebrate genomes presented here will support the management of soil biodiversity through molecular monitoring of community composition and function, and the discovery of evolutionary adaptations to the challenges of soil conditions.