Characterizing wheat defense mechanisms against wheat curl mite infestation

Wheat is one of the most important food crops and is a dietary staple for major portion of world population. However, wheat production is impacted by several pests that induce yield reduction. Among these pests is the wheat curl mite (WCM, Aceria tosichella Keifer), which are tiny mites (about 0.2 mm) that damage wheat leaves by feeding within the whorl of developing leaves and prevent the leaves from unfurling by causing leaf curling or rolling. This curling of the leaves reduces leaf area and photosynthesis capacity, but it also limitsthe exposure of WCM to caricides. In addition to physical damage, WCM also transmit three viruses to winter wheat in North America. However, very little is known about the e impact of the WCM on wheat transcriptome. To better understand the wheat transcriptome variation after WCM infestation, we took advantage of the last published version of the allohexaploid wheat genome combined with an RNA-seq approach. We collected leaves infested and uninfested with WCM from two wheat cultivars: Byrd(containing a WCM resistance gene) and Settler (WCM susceptible) at 10 days post infestation. Our transcriptomic profiling of wheat cultivars provides important clues on factors that contribute to wheat defense against WCM.