Data from: Characterization of Arabidopsis transcriptional responses to different aphid species reveals genes that contribute to host susceptibility and non-host resistance

Aphids are economically important pests that display exceptional variation
in host range. The determinants of diverse aphid host ranges are not well
understood, but it is likely that molecular interactions are involved.
With significant progress being made towards understanding host responses
upon aphid attack, the mechanisms underlying non-host resistance remain to
be elucidated. Here, we investigated and compared Arabidopsis thaliana
host and non-host responses to aphids at the transcriptional level using
three different aphid species, Myzus persicae, Myzus cerasi and
Rhopalosiphum pisum. Gene expression analyses revealed a high level of
overlap in the overall gene expression changes during the host and
non-host interactions with regards to the sets of genes differentially
expressed and the direction of expression changes. Despite this overlap in
transcriptional responses across interactions, there was a stronger
repression of genes involved in metabolism and oxidative responses
specifically during the host interaction with M. persicae. In addition, we
identified a set of genes with opposite gene expression patterns during
the host versus non-host interactions. Aphid performance assays on
Arabidopsis mutants that were selected based on our transcriptome analyses
identified novel genes contributing to host susceptibility, host defences
during interactions with M. persicae as well to non-host resistance
against R. padi. Understanding how plants respond to aphid species that
differ in their ability to infest plant species, and identifying the genes
and signaling pathways involved, is essential for the development of novel
and durable aphid control in crop plants.