Spider mite preliminary feeding experiment with mites reared on bean and two Arabidopsis thaliana accessions

We sequenced messenger RNA from mixed stages of the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) reared on bean (Phaseolus vulgaris cv California Red Kidney; the laboratory host plant for mites) and two Arabidopsis thaliana accessions which were considered to either be susceptible (Kondara) or resistant (Bla-2) to mite feeding. This pilot experiment was conducted to assess gene expression differences of mites grown on sensitive versus resistant Arabidopsis accessions, as well as differences in mites feeding on different host species. The expression data was used for gene model validation of genes predicted by EuGene in the spider mite genome and to assess gene expression levels. Overall design: Examination of gene expression of spider mites reared on beans and two Arabidopsis accessions (Kondara and Bla-2).