cotton fleahopper gut metadata

The cotton fleahopper (Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter)) is an early season cotton pest but is also a generalist feeder and has been documented on over 135 different plant hosts from 35 families. Host plants were determined mainly by field observation or controlled lab feedings. To more accurately determine what the cotton fleahopper is eating under natural conditions, we collected cotton fleahopper nymphs from major known host plants and in fields of mixed plant composition. We then used amplicon sequencing with plant-specific primers to identify plant families injected by the cotton fleahopper. This proof-of-concept study is the first to show this techniques works in a mirid insect and ultimately will allow us to find what host plants cotton fleahoppers feed on prior to infesting cotton.

棉跳盲蝽（*Pseudatomoscelis seriatus* (Reuter)）是棉花生育早期的主要害虫，同时为广食性昆虫，目前已被记录的寄主植物涵盖35个科、共计135余种。此前该虫的寄主范围主要通过野外观察或室内可控饲喂实验确定。为更精准地明确该虫在自然环境下的实际取食对象，研究团队从已确认的主要寄主植物以及植物群落混合的农田中采集了棉跳盲蝽若虫；随后采用植物特异性引物的扩增子测序技术，对该虫取食的植物类群（科水平）进行鉴定。本项概念验证研究首次证实该技术可应用于盲蝽科昆虫相关研究，最终将帮助我们明确该虫在侵害棉花之前所取食的寄主植物种类。