Microbiome analysis of the Asian rice gall midge-infested and -uninfected rice tissues

The Asian rice gall midge (ARGM) is one the most devastating pest of rice. The defence response initiated in the rice host to ARGM infestation shares similarities to rice response elicited upon pathogen attack. This analysis was carried out to study the microflora present at feeding site of ARGM maggots, with the view to determine the exchange of bacterial species between ARGM and its rice host, if any. To this end we also studied the species diversity of Pseudomonas and Wolbachia present at the ARGM feeding site in rice.