Hornfly Head and Body RNAseq

To identify chemosensory genes expressed in the primary olfactory and taste organs of the horn fly, transcriptome databases were developed representing female and male horn fly antennae, maxillary palps, and proboscides. Replicate total RNAs were isolated from hand-dissected antennae, maxillary palps, and proboscides of 7d fed, mated female or male horn flies. In parallel, replicate total RNAs were isolated from decapitated bodies of these same females and males. Comparison of the tissue-specific versus body RNASeq datasets resulted in a transcriptome database reflecting female- and male-specific chemosensory genes uniquely expressed in antennae/maxillary palps/proboscides