Helicoverpa armigera midgut transcriptome

Caterpillars from the insect order Lepidoptera are some of the most widespread and destructive agricultural pests. The larval stage is the most destructive one and during this life stage larvae digest a large amount of food. Apparently, the lepidopteran larval midgut plays an instrumental role in these insects, because it is responsible for digesting the ingested food and also for absorbing nutrients. In this study, we performed RNA-sequencing on the midgut of the polyphagous pest Helicoverpa armigera in an attempt to study gene expression in this important organ. More specifically, we sequenced: (a) the midgut from four different larval stages (L2-L5), (b) five gut compartments across the anterior-posterior axis (foregut, anterior midgut, middle midgut, posterior midgut, and hindgut) from L5 larvae, and (c) the same five L5 gut comparments but from animals fed on cotton plants (all other samples are dissected from animals fed on artificial diet).