A chromosome-level genome of the spider <i>Trichonephila antipodiana</i> reveals the genetic basis of its polyphagy and evidence of an ancient whole-genome duplication event

BACKGROUND: The spider Trichonephila antipodiana (Araneidae), commonly known as the batik golden web spider, preys on arthropods with body sizes ranging from ∼2 mm in length to insects larger than itself (>20‒50 mm), indicating its polyphagy and strong dietary detoxification abilities. Although it has been reported that an ancient whole-genome duplication event occurred in spiders, lack of a high-quality genome has limited characterization of this event. RESULTS: We present a chromosome-level T. antipodiana genome constructed on the basis of PacBio and Hi-C sequencing. The assembled genome is 2.29 Gb in size with a scaffold N50 of 172.89 Mb. Hi-C scaffolding assigned 98.5% of the bases to 13 pseudo-chromosomes, and BUSCO completeness analysis revealed that the assembly included 94.8% of the…