A transcriptomic investigation of midgut and fat body responses in cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) to xanthotoxin and esfenvalerate exposures

This transcriptomic study investigates the molecular responses of cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) to two distinct xenobiotic challenges: xanthotoxin, a plant defense furanocoumarin, and esfenvalerate, a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide. We performed RNA sequencing on two important tissues involved in detoxification and metabolism: the midgut and fat body. The experiment includes untreated control groups for both tissues, with four biological replicates for each treatment condition: midgut treated with esfenvalerate, midgut treated with xanthotoxin, fat body treated with esfenvalerate, and fat body treated with xanthotoxin, resulting in 24 samples total.