Diuraphis noxia and Schizaphis graminum Genome sequencing and assembly

The Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia, (Kurdjumov), is a destructive global arthropod pest of wheat that causes major wheat yield losses worldwide and the greenbug aphid, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) is a major pest of wheat and many other graminaceous crops.  To mitigate damage and reduce yield losses, numerous D. noxia-resistant varieties of wheat have been deployed throughout North America and South Africa, several of which have cross-resistance to the greenbug.  However, the emergence of new D. noxia biotypes that have been able to overcome these resistance genes have occurred repeatedly in regions where these cultivars have been deployed and it is not known whether greenbugs are also able to overcome these resistance genes . Given the compelling need to understand the molecular bases of aphid virulence, we explored the relationship between gene expression and virulence in D. noxia and greenbug by comparing the RNAseq profiles of aphids allowed to feed on wheat varieties containing no resistance genes (Dn0), biotype 1 resistance (Dn4) or biotype 2 resistance (Dn7).