Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #428484
Research Project: Management, Conservation, Systematics, and Genomics of Diverse Bees for Sustainable Crop Production and Wildlands Preservation in a Changing Climate

Location: Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research

Title: Reference genome assemblies for the North American bumble bees Bombus flavifrons and Bombus fervidus, two phenotypically polymorphic species from distinct phylogenetic lineages

Author
item LOZIER, JEFFREY - University Of Alabama
item Schweizer, Rena
item Sim, Sheina
item HINES, HEATHER - Pennsylvania State University
item Branstetter, Michael
item BENAVIDES, LIGIA - Harvard University
item Geib, Scott
item KOCH, JONATHAN - University Of Hawaii

Submitted to: G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/2/2026
Publication Date: 2/17/2026
Citation: Lozier, J.D., Schweizer, R.M., Sim, S.B., Hines, H.M., Branstetter, M.G., Benavides, L.R., Geib, S.M., Koch, J.B. 2026. Reference genome assemblies for the North American bumble bees Bombus flavifrons and Bombus fervidus, two phenotypically polymorphic species from distinct phylogenetic lineages. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkag041.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkag041

Interpretive Summary: In collaboration with the University of Alabama and Harvard University, ARS scientists created a high-quality map of the DNA (genome) for two bumble bee species, the yellow-fronted bumble bee (Bombus flavifrons) and the golden northern bumble bee (B. fervidus). These species are widespread pollinators across North America and both exhibit interesting color pattern variation across their ranges due to mimicry. The final genomes of both species are very complete and high quality based on common genome assembly metrics. They are 310.5 and 314.3 million base pairs long and include 18 and 19 chromosomes, respectively. Genome assembly analysis confirmed 12,476 genes in B. flavifrons and 13,353 genes in B. fervidus. These genomes provide a useful resource both for studies of native pollinator biology and the evolution of phenotypic variation.

Technical Abstract: We present genome assemblies for two bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus) species Bombus (Pyrobombus) flavifrons and Bombus (Thoracobombus) fervidus. These species are widespread pollinators across North America and both exhibit interesting intraspecific color pattern variation across their ranges due to Mullerian mimicry. These genomes will thus be a useful resource both for studies of native pollinator biology and the evolution of phenotypic variation. We used a combination of long read Pacific Biosciences Revio HiFi sequencing and Hi-C sequencing in each species to produce intact and complete genome assemblies and annotations. The B. flavifrons genome was assembled into a total of 483 scaffolds, with 18 primary assembled molecules representing putative chromosomes (scaffold N50 = 15.6 Mb), with a total length of 310.5 Mb, 12,476 genes (10,137 protein coding), and a BUSCO protein score of 97.9% complete (97.6% complete and single copy). The B. fervidus genome was assembled into a total of 181 scaffolds, with 19 assembled chromosomes (scaffold N50 = 15.3 Mb, contig N50 =10.3 Mb), a total length of 314.3 Mb, 13,353 genes (10,599 protein coding), and a BUSCO protein score of 98.8% complete (98.3% complete and single copy). We present summaries of gene and repetitive element distributions across the putative chromosome scaffolds and synteny analyses of each species.