RNA-Seq analysis of a Reciprocal Transplant experiment for two strains of Spodoptera frugiperda fed on rice or corn, in laboratory and natural populations

We wished to investigate if adaptation to host-plant diet is the basis of differentiation for two strains of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera:Noctuidae). We performed reciprocal transplant experiments in laboratory conditions, feeding each strain (sf-C and sf-R) with artificial diet, corn plants or rice plants. RNA-Seq was performed on pooled 4th instar larvae from this experiment. We compared this transcriptional response with that of individual 4th instar larvae collected in corn and grass fields in Florida.