Supporting data for "Chromosome-level reference genome of the European wasp spider <i>Argiope bruennichi</i>: a resource for studies on range expansion and evolutionary adaptation"

<i>Argiope bruennichi</i>, the European wasp spider, has been investigated intensively as a focal species for studies on sexual selection, chemical communication, and the dynamics of rapid range expansion at a behavioral and genetic level. However, the lack of a reference genome has limited insights into the genetic basis for these phenomena. Therefore, we assembled a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome of the European wasp spider as a tool for more in-depth future studies. We generated, <i>de novo</i>, a 1.67Gb genome assembly of <i>A. bruennichi</i> using 21.8X PacBio sequencing, polished with 19.8X Illumina paired-end sequencing data, and proximity ligation (Hi-C) based scaffolding. This resulted in an N50 scaffold size of 124Mb and an N50 contig size of 288kb. We found 98.4% of the genome to be contained in 13 scaffolds, fitting the expected number of chromosomes (n = 13). Analyses showed the presence of 91.1% of complete arthropod BUSCOs, indicating a high quality assembly. We present the first chromosome-level genome assembly in the order Araneae. With this genomic resource, we open the door for more precise and informative studies on evolution and adaptation not only in <i>A. bruennichi</i>, but also in arachnids overall, shedding light on questions such as the genomic architecture of traits, whole-genome duplication and the genomic mechanisms behind silk and venom evolution.