Data of the study: De Novo genome assembly, annotation, and characterization of chemosensory genes in the camel ked (Hippobosca camelina).

OBJECTIVES: Hippobosca camelina (camel ked) is an obligate hematophagous ectoparasite that infests camels. Hematophagy inflicts painful bites, leading to myiasis, anaemia and pathogen transmission. The genome assembly for this species is currently unavailable, limiting our understanding of its genetics, particularly its chemosensory system. Therefore, this study focused on generating whole genome assembly and characterizing the chemosensory genes to aid in molecular studies of the camel ked. DATA DESCRIPTION: Genomic DNA was extracted from the thoracic muscles of both the male and female camel keds. A total of 11.8 Giga base pairs for the male ked and 13.6 Giga base pairs for the female ked, were sequenced using Oxford Nanopore technology. Reads were then assembled into a 133.5 Mega base pairs genome for the male ked with an N50 of 419.6 Kb and 135.6 Mega base pairs for the female ked with an N50 of 1.2 Mega base pairs. Both genomes had a BUSCO (Genome mode) completion rate above 97% with the dipteran lineage datasets. Active Chemosensory genes recovered included 4 Chemosensory specific proteins (CSPs), 18 Ionotropic receptors (IRs), 7 Gustatory receptors (GRs), 5 Odorant receptors (ORs), 9 Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and 1 Sensory Neuron Membrane Protein (SNMP). This information will lead to a better understanding of the genomic structure and functional chemosensory genes of the keds.