Locusta migratoria migratoria Transcriptome or Gene expression

Maternal related embryonic developmental traits attract numerous attentions from biological scientists. Small RNAs, especially microRNAs and piRNAs, exert crucial roles in the maternal effects. The migratory locust exhibits polyphenism between solitarious and gregarious phases, displaying numerous different phenotypic traits. The phase-related characteristics are able to be transmitted from mothers to the progeny. In order to unveil the molecular mechanism of maternal effects in the locusts, we used high-throughput sequencing to compare the small RNA profiles of gregarious and solitarious in the ovaries of the locusts. We found numerous differentially expressed small RNAs between the gregarious and solitarious locusts, which may regulate the maternal-controlled phase-related traits in the locusts.