RNA-Sequencing of 3rd-instar Spodoptera frugiperda post-infection with Spodoptera frugiperda ascovirus-1a (SfAV-1a), the ascovirus type species.

Purpose: We analyzed the 3rd-instar Spodoptera frugiperda response after SfAV-1a infection. Specifically, we targeted three gene types in the infected host namely, mitochondrial, cytoskeleton and innate immunity genes. Method: We used a wild type strain of the Spodoptera frugiperda ascovirus-1a (SfAV-1a), the type species for the family Ascoviridae. This strain was used to infect 3rd-instar caterpillars of Spodoptera frugiperda, and all transcriptome data were derived from this developmental stage. For sequencing the HiSeq2500 Illumina sequencer and NextSeq500 were used (Noll Core Facility at the UC Riverside Institute for Integrative Genome Biology), in triplicates.