Nandety Raja Sekhar, Kamita Shizuo G, Hammock Bruce D, Falk Bryce W
Department of Plant Pathology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2013 Dec 10;8(12):e81681. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081681. eCollection 2013.
The glassy-winged sharpshooter Homalodisca vitripennis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is a xylem-feeding leafhopper and important vector of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa; the causal agent of Pierce's disease of grapevines. The functional complexity of the transcriptome of H. vitripennis has not been elucidated thus far. It is a necessary blueprint for an understanding of the development of H. vitripennis and for designing efficient biorational control strategies including those based on RNA interference.
Here we elucidate and explore the transcriptome of adult H. vitripennis using high-throughput paired end deep sequencing and de novo assembly. A total of 32,803,656 paired-end reads were obtained with an average transcript length of 624 nucleotides. We assembled 32.9 Mb of the transcriptome of H. vitripennis that spanned across 47,265 loci and 52,708 transcripts. Comparison of our non-redundant database showed that 45% of the deduced proteins of H. vitripennis exhibit identity (e-value ≤1(-5)) with known proteins. We assigned Gene Ontology (GO) terms, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) annotations, and potential Pfam domains to each transcript isoform. In order to gain insight into the molecular basis of key regulatory genes of H. vitripennis, we characterized predicted proteins involved in the metabolism of juvenile hormone, and biogenesis of small RNAs (Dicer and Piwi sequences) from the transcriptomic sequences. Analysis of transposable element sequences of H. vitripennis indicated that the genome is less expanded in comparison to many other insects with approximately 1% of the transcriptome carrying transposable elements.
Our data significantly enhance the molecular resources available for future study and control of this economically important hemipteran. This transcriptional information not only provides a more nuanced understanding of the underlying biological and physiological mechanisms that govern H. vitripennis, but may also lead to the identification of novel targets for biorationally designed control strategies.
玻璃翅叶蝉Homalodisca vitripennis（半翅目：叶蝉科）是一种取食木质部的叶蝉，也是葡萄黄化病菌Xylella fastidiosa的重要传播媒介；葡萄黄化病菌是葡萄皮尔氏病的致病因子。迄今为止，尚未阐明玻璃翅叶蝉转录组的功能复杂性。它是理解玻璃翅叶蝉发育以及设计包括基于RNA干扰的高效生物合理控制策略的必要蓝图。
在此，我们使用高通量双末端深度测序和从头组装来阐明和探索成年玻璃翅叶蝉的转录组。共获得32,803,656个双末端读数，平均转录本长度为624个核苷酸。我们组装了玻璃翅叶蝉32.9 Mb的转录组，其跨越47,265个基因座和52,708个转录本。我们的非冗余数据库比较显示，玻璃翅叶蝉45%的推导蛋白质与已知蛋白质具有同一性（期望值≤1(-5)）。我们为每个转录本异构体指定了基因本体论（GO）术语、京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）注释以及潜在的Pfam结构域。为了深入了解玻璃翅叶蝉关键调控基因的分子基础，我们从转录组序列中鉴定了参与保幼激素代谢以及小RNA生物合成（Dicer和Piwi序列）的预测蛋白质。玻璃翅叶蝉转座元件序列分析表明，与许多其他昆虫相比，其基因组扩张程度较小，约1%的转录组携带转座元件。
我们的数据显著增加了可用于未来研究和控制这种具有经济重要性的半翅目的分子资源。这些转录信息不仅能更细致地理解调控玻璃翅叶蝉的潜在生物学和生理机制，还可能有助于确定生物合理设计控制策略的新靶点。
