Characterization of rice-yellow stem borer interaction

Yellow stem borer (YSB), Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a major pest of rice in India, that can lead to 20-60% loss in rice production. Effective management of YSB infestation is challenged by the non-availability of adequate source of resistance and poor understanding of resistance mechanisms, thus necessitating studies for generating resources to breed YSB resistant rice and to understand rice-YSB interaction. Here we performed transcritpomics profiling of rice lines with contrasting response to YSB. RNA-sequencing of the susceptible (SM) and tolerant (SM92 lines revealed multiple genes to be differentially regulated upon YSB infestation. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed a putative candidate gene that was predicted to encode an alpha-amylase inhibitor. Analysis of the transcriptome and metabolite profiles further revealed a possible link between phenylpropanoid metabolism and YSB tolerance. Rice plants in reproductive stage were infested with YSB larvae and the zone of infestation (~2cm stem cuts) were collected at 72hours post infestation from the susceptible and tolerant lines. Uninfested samples were collected as controls and subjected to RNA isoaltion and seqeuncing.