De novo comparative transcriptome analysis of a rare cicada, with identification of candidate genes related to adaptation to a novel host plant and drier habitats.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although the importance of host plant chemistry in plant-insect interactions is widely recognized, our understanding about the genetic basis underlying the relationship between changes in midgut proteins and adaptation of plant-feeding insects to novel host plants and habitats is very limited. To address this knowledge gap, the transcriptional profiles of midguts among three populations of the cicada Subpsaltria yangi Chen were compared. Among which, the Hancheng (HC) and Fengxiang (FX) populations occurring in the Loess Plateau feed on Ziziphus jujuba Mill. var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H. F. Chow, while the population occurring in a much drier habitat in the Helan (HL) Mountains is locally specialized on a chemically divergent plant, Ephedra lepidosperma C. Y. Cheng.

R

SUBMITTER: Hou Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6407286 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature