Transcriptomic Resource of Trissolcus cultratus: A Key Biological Control Agent for Halyomorpha halys

Area of Science:

• Entomology
• Genomics
• Biocontrol

Background:

• Trissolcus cultratus is a parasitoid wasp of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB).
• Significant differences exist in the parasitic capacities of Chinese and Swiss T. cultratus populations on BMSB eggs.
• Chinese strains exhibit broader reproductive success across different host egg conditions compared to Swiss strains.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the first comprehensive transcriptome dataset for Trissolcus cultratus.
• To identify genetic variations underlying divergent parasitic capacities between Chinese and Swiss T. cultratus populations.
• To establish a foundation for future research on T. cultratus population genetics and biocontrol applications.

Main Methods:

• High-throughput sequencing of T. cultratus from Chinese and Swiss populations.
• De novo assembly of clean reads to generate unigenes.
• Bioinformatic analysis to predict protein-coding genes and identify transcription factors.

Main Results:

• Sequencing yielded over 184 million and 195 million clean reads for Chinese and Swiss strains, respectively.
• Transcriptome assemblies resulted in 19,280 unigenes (Chinese) and 16,322 unigenes (Swiss).
• Predicted protein-coding genes numbered 9,811 (Chinese) and 9,582 (Swiss), with 554 and 557 transcription factors identified, respectively.

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first transcriptomic data for T. cultratus, crucial for understanding its biology.
• The identified genetic resources offer insights into the divergent parasitic capabilities of different T. cultratus populations.
• This dataset is foundational for future investigations into BMSB biocontrol strategies utilizing T. cultratus.