Wheat transcriptomic responses to long-term feeding by wheat curl mites

The economic importance of wheat and its contribution to human and livestock diets has been already demonstrated. However, wheat production is impacted by pests that induce yield reductions. Among these pests, wheat curl mite (WCM, Aceria tosichella Keifer) impacts wheat all around the world. WCM are tiny pests that feed within the whorl of developing leaves and prevent the leaves from unfurling by causing leaves curling. The curling of the leaves provides a protective niche for the WCM. Additionally, WCM are also the vector of serious viruses in wheat. Little is known regarding the impact of the WCM on wheat transcriptome, and to date, only one article has been published describing the wheat transcriptomic changes after 1 day of WCM feeding. To better understand the wheat transcriptome variation after long-term feeding by WCM (10 days post infestation (dpi)), we used an RNA-seq approach. We collected leaves uninfested and infested with WCR from two wheat cultivars: Byrd (WCM resistant) and Settler CL (WCM susceptible) at 10 dpi. Our transcriptomic analysis revealed the common and specific transcriptomic variations in WCM resistant and susceptible wheat cultivars, chromosome specific location of the differentially expressed genes, and also identified the gene functions and pathways involved in WCM resistance. Collectively, our study provides important insights on wheat defense mechanisms against WCM after long-term feeding. Whorl mRNA profiles of 10 days after infestation of resistant (Byrd) and susceptible (Settler CL) wheat cultivar

小麦的经济重要性及其对人类与畜禽日粮的贡献已得到充分证实。然而，小麦生产会受到各类虫害的影响，进而造成产量损失。在这些虫害中，小麦卷叶螨（wheat curl mite, WCM, Aceria tosichella Keifer）在全球范围内均对小麦造成危害。该螨体型微小，会在发育中叶片的叶心处取食，并通过诱导叶片卷曲阻碍其正常展开，而卷曲的叶片又为WCM提供了保护性的生存微环境。此外，WCM还是小麦多种严重病毒的传毒媒介。目前学界对WCM对小麦转录组（transcriptome）的影响尚缺乏深入了解，截至目前仅发表过1篇关于WCM取食1天后小麦转录组变化的研究论文。为了更深入地解析WCM长期取食（侵染后10天，10 days post infestation, 10 dpi）后小麦的转录组变异，本研究采用了RNA测序（RNA-seq）技术。我们于侵染后10天，分别采集了两个小麦品种——抗WCM品种Byrd与感WCM品种Settler CL——的未侵染与被侵染叶片。转录组分析结果揭示了抗、感WCM小麦品种中共同存在以及特异性的转录组变异，明确了差异表达基因的染色体定位，同时鉴定出了参与WCM抗性调控的基因功能与通路。综上，本研究为解析小麦在长期受WCM取食后的防御机制提供了重要见解。本数据集涵盖抗WCM小麦品种Byrd与感WCM品种Settler CL在侵染后10天的叶心mRNA转录组谱。