RNA-Seq of sugarcane hybrid cultivars under E. saccharina challenge. Saccharum hybrid cultivar

We sequenced the stalk transcriptome (mRNA) of two sugarcane hybrid cultivars (N33 and N11). The cultivars differed in their susceptibility to the stalk borer, Eldana saccharina. We performed RNA-Seq for 24 paired-end libraries using an Illumina HiSeq 2500 instrument. The experiment was designed to capture the early defense and late defense response in each sugarcane cultivar. Sampling was done one day after an eldana saccharina larva was allowed to bore (early defense response) and 3 days after the larva was allowed to bore (late defense). Unchallenged control samples were collected at the same timepoints. Three biological replicates of each challenge were sequenced.