Comparative transcriptome analysis of Carabus iwawakianus and Carabus uenoi. Carabus

The goal of this study is to define candidate genes that are responsible for genital morphology in Ohomopterus. Genital morphology plays an essential role in reproductive isolation in Ohomopterus, and therefore revealing how specific genes determine the morphological differences in genital morphology will expected to shed light to the evolutionary mechanism of how the reproductive isolation are established during speciation in this ground beetle group. After the comparative transcriptomic analysis between related sepecies, the candidate genes for the genitalia formation would be functionally analyzed by RNAi.