Comparative metatranscriptome of brown marmorated stink bug with and without the bacterial endosymbiont. Halyomorpha halys

The fitness of most insect species is improved with the cooperation from bacterial endosymbionts. The bacterial endosymbionts are known to live inside the insect host and play a vital role in providing essential nutrients that are deficient in the insect’s diet. Insect-symbiont interactions are well studied in hemipteran pests such as aphids. Halyomorpha halys (brown marmorated stink bug-BMSB, Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a notorious invasive pest that is known to feed on more than 300 plant species. The primary obligate bacterial symbiont of BMSB is Candidatus Pantoea carbekii (P. carbekii). P. carbekii increases BMSB’s fitness and survival, presumably by providing essential nutrients, including amino acids and vitamins. Studying the symbiotic interaction of BMSB-P. carbekii will provide insights on the molecular and physiological functions as well as the nutrient provisioning role of P. carbekii. In this study using a ribodepletion strategy, we assembled a gut metatranscriptome of symbiotic and aposymbiotic BMSB which includes sequences from both the host (BMSB) and bacteria (P. carbekii).