Genome Sequencing of Spodoptera frugiperda [Lepidoptera]: A genome wide investigation providing new insights on polyphagy in phytophagous insects and on the role of the host-plant in strains differentiation.. Adaptation to the environment and speciation in Spodoptera frugiperda

The genus Spodoptera belongs to Lepidoptera and consists of 30 species among which more than a half are polyphagous and pests of agriculture. Spodoptera frugiperda is also polyphagous and exists as two host-plant strains, one found on corn, cotton, sorghum, the other on rice and various pasture grasses. The two strains diverged 2 MYA. The project aimed at WGS of the two strains genome and to compare them to that of the silkworm, the Lepidopteran model which is monophagous, to highlight genes necessary to develop and reproduce on a wide host-plant range. The project aimed also at comparing the two strains genomes to encover genes under positive selection, rearrangements, variations in genes copy-number, that could be involved in their differentiation.