First Transcriptome and Digital Gene Expression Analysis in Neuroptera with an Emphasis on Chemoreception Genes in Chrysopa pallens (Rambur)

BackgroundChrysopa pallens (Rambur) are the most important natural enemies and predators of various agricultural pests. Understanding the sophisticated olfactory system in insect antennae is crucial for studying the physiological bases of olfaction and also could lead to effective applications of C. pallens in integrated pest management. However no transcriptome information is available for Neuroptera, and sequence data for C. pallens are scarce, so obtaining more sequence data is a priority for researchers on this species.ResultsTo facilitate identifying sets of genes involved in olfaction, a normalized transcriptome of C. pallens was sequenced. A total of 104,603 contigs were obtained and assembled into 10,662 clusters and 39,734 singletons; 20,524 were annotated based on BLASTX analyses. A large number of candidate chemosensory genes were identified, including 14 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 22 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 16 ionotropic receptors, 14 odorant receptors, and genes potentially involved in olfactory modulation. To better understand the OBPs, CSPs and cytochrome P450s, phylogenetic trees were constructed. In addition, 10 digital gene expression libraries of different tissues were constructed and gene expression profiles were compared among different tissues in males and females.ConclusionsOur results provide a basis for exploring the mechanisms of chemoreception in C. pallens, as well as other insects. The evolutionary analyses in our study provide new insights into the differentiation and evolution of insect OBPs and CSPs. Our study provided large-scale sequence information for further studies in C. pallens.