Transcriptome sequencing of tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum) infected with whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) eggs and treated with egg extract

Purpose: At present, the transcriptome information of host plants responding to the eggs of phloem-feeding insects is largely limited. In this study, we explored the transcriptional response of host plant tobacco Nicotiana tabacum to the eggs of the Hemiptera phloem-feeding insect whitefly Bemisia tabaci. Eggs of whiteflies are inserted into the leaf epidermal cell with the egg pedicel, not laid on the leaf surface as butterfly or moth eggs did, thus we predicted that the eggs may induce host response and fine-tune the plant defense through this connection.