A chromosome-level genome assembly of the Hermonassa cecilia (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Hermonassa cecilia is a Lepidoptera pest primarily distributed in East Asia, belonging to the subfamily Noctuinae, which includes species that typically target and damage the underground parts of plants. However, there is limited information available on the life history and genomic resources of H. cecilia to date. In this study, we present a high-quality reference genome of H. cecilia generated using PacBio sequencing and Hi-C methods. The assembled genome size is 626.10 Mb, with a N50 of 21.00 Mb, and the contigs were mapped onto 31 chromosomes. BUSCO analysis indicated high genome completeness, with a score of 99.40%. We identified 281.45 Mb of repetitive sequences, which account for 44.21% of the genome, and annotated 22,662 protein-coding genes, 89.29% of which had functional annotations. This study represents the first assembly and annotation of the H. cecilia genome, providing a valuable resource for understanding its biological characteristics and offering significant potential for comparative genomics within the Noctuinae subfamily.