MicroRNA characterization in three avocado seed weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

This dataset contains small-RNA sequencing files and processed data tables supporting a reference-based analysis of conserved microRNAs (miRNAs) in three avocado-associated weevil species: Conotrachelus perseae, Conotrachelus aguacatae, and Heilipus lauri. The sequencing data comprise five pooled adult libraries: female and male C. perseae, female C. aguacatae, and female and male H. lauri. Each species–sex group is represented by one pooled library. In the filenames, the suffix _F denotes females and _M denotes males. No male library was available for C. aguacatae. The compressed FASTQ files contain the sequencing reads used for the analysis: C_aguacatae_F.fq.gz: female Conotrachelus aguacatae C_perseae_F.fq.gz: female Conotrachelus perseae C_perseae_M.fq.gz: male Conotrachelus perseae H_lauri_F.fq.gz: female Heilipus lauri H_lauri_M.fq.gz: male Heilipus lauri Conserved miRNAs were identified using a reference-based approach with Tribolium castaneum miRNA annotations. After data curation and application of a minimum detection threshold of 10 reads, 78 mature miRNA annotations were retained, of which 47 were detected in all five libraries. The processed tables include sample summaries, mature-miRNA read abundances, presence–absence and reads-per-million matrices, pairwise similarity measures, descriptive pairwise log2 abundance ratios, read-threshold sensitivity analyses, sample-intersection patterns, and comparisons of miRNA occurrence across insect orders. Because each species–sex combination was represented by a single pooled library, these data support descriptive comparisons of miRNA occurrence and relative abundance but should not be interpreted as evidence of differential expression or sex-specific regulation. The processed data tables comprise the following files: 01_sample_summary.xlsx: sample information and sequencing summary for the five pooled adult small-RNA libraries. 02_collapsed_mature_miRNA_abundance.xlsx: curated mature-miRNA annotations and raw read abundances across the five libraries. 03_presence_absence_matrix_min_10_reads.xlsx: mature-miRNA presence–absence matrix based on a minimum detection threshold of 10 reads. 04_abundance_per_million_matrix.xlsx: relative mature-miRNA abundance expressed as reads per million (RPM) across libraries. 05_all_pairwise_presence_comparisons.xlsx: pairwise comparisons of mature-miRNA presence–absence profiles, including shared and library-specific miRNAs and similarity indices. 06_descriptive_pairwise_log2_ratios.xlsx: descriptive pairwise log2 ratios of mature-miRNA relative abundances between libraries. These values do not represent differential-expression results. 07_read_threshold_sensitivity.xlsx: sensitivity analysis showing the number of retained miRNAs under alternative minimum-read thresholds. 08_miRNA_distribution_by_insect_order.xlsx: distribution of the retained mature-miRNA annotations among the insect orders included in the reference comparison. 09_miRNA_by_insect_order_matrix.xlsx: presence–absence matrix of mature-miRNA annotations across insect orders. 10_insect_order_presence_patterns.xlsx: occurrence patterns showing which insect orders contain each retained mature-miRNA annotation. 11_sample_intersection_patterns.xlsx: intersection patterns indicating the combinations of weevil libraries in which each mature miRNA was detected. 12_sample_by_insect_order_summary.xlsx: summary of mature-miRNA representation by weevil library and insect order.