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Methods for the Extraction of Endosymbionts from the Whitefly Bemisia tabaci
Published on: June 19, 2017
Transcriptome analysis and comparison reveal divergence between two invasive whitefly cryptic species.
Xiao-Wei Wang1, Jun-Bo Luan, Jun-Min Li
1Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China. xwwang@zju.edu.cn
BMC Genomics
|September 24, 2011
Summary
Comparative genomics reveals distinct evolutionary paths for invasive whitefly species Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 and MED. Analysis of their transcriptomes highlights genetic factors contributing to their divergence, particularly in metabolism and insecticide resistance.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Genomics
- Entomology
Background:
- Invasive species, such as the whitefly Bemisia tabaci complex, serve as models for studying evolutionary processes.
- Two key invasive whitefly species, Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) and Mediterranean (MED), have distinct life history traits.
- Previous research sequenced the MED transcriptome; this study focuses on MEAM1.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate transcriptome evolution between MEAM1 and MED whitefly species.
- To identify genetic factors underlying the biological differences between these two invasive whiteflies.
- To conduct a comparative genomic analysis of MEAM1 and MED.
Main Methods:
- Sequencing of the MEAM1 transcriptome using Illumina technology.
- Assembly and annotation of MEAM1 sequencing reads.
- Comparative genomic analysis with the MED transcriptome to identify orthologous genes and sequence divergence.
Main Results:
- Generated 17 million sequencing reads for MEAM1, assembled into 57,741 unique sequences.
- Identified 3,585 pairs of high-quality orthologous genes between MEAM1 and MED, with average sequence divergences of 0.83% (coding), 1.66% (5' UTR), and 1.43% (3' UTR).
- Detected 24 sequences under positive selection, many related to metabolism and insecticide resistance, suggesting their role in species divergence.
Conclusions:
- The sequence divergence supports the classification of MEAM1 and MED as distinct species.
- This comprehensive sequence comparison provides a foundation for future research into the molecular mechanisms driving whitefly species differences.
