Abstract
Background: Spittle bugs and sharpshooters are well-known xylem sap-feeding insects and vectors of the phytopathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Wells), a causal agent of Pierce's disease of grapevines and other crop diseases. Specialized feeding on nutrient-deficient xylem sap is relatively rare among insect herbivores, and only limited genomic and transcriptomic information has been generated for xylem-sap feeders. To develop a more comprehensive understanding of biochemical adaptations and symbiotic relationships that support survival on a nutritionally austere dietary source, transcriptome assemblies for three sharpshooter species and one spittlebug species were produced. Findings: Trinity-based de novo transcriptome assemblies were generated for all four xylem-sap feeders using raw sequencing data originating from whole-insect preps. Total transcripts for each species ranged from 91 384 for Cuerna arida to 106 998 for Homalodisca liturata with transcript totals for Graphocephala atropunctata and the spittlebug Clastoptera arizonana falling in between. The percentage of transcripts comprising complete open reading frames ranged from 60% for H. liturata to 82% for C. arizonana. Bench-marking universal single-copy orthologs analyses for each dataset indicated quality assemblies and a high degree of completeness for all four species. Conclusions: These four transcriptomes represent a significant expansion of data for insect herbivores that feed exclusively on xylem sap, a nutritionally deficient dietary source relative to other plant tissues and fluids. Comparison of transcriptome data with insect herbivores that utilize other dietary sources may illuminate fundamental differences in the biochemistry of dietary specialization.
Highlights
Reviewer Comments to Author: In the present Data note, the authors submitted de-novo transcriptome assemblies for four different xylem-sap feeding insects (H liturata, C arizonana, C arida, G atropruncta): Because of the particular feeding behaviour of these insects that feed exclusively on xylem sap, these datasets clearly improve the herbivory collection of insects belonging to this niche
It will a valuable source of data for people interested in comparing how insects can cope and adapt to food with low nutritional value
I have checked all access numbers and it seems that authors correctly uploaded all their RAW and processed files to NCBI and GigaScience databases
Summary
Reviewer Comments to Author: In the present Data note, the authors submitted de-novo transcriptome assemblies for four different xylem-sap feeding insects (H liturata, C arizonana, C arida, G atropruncta): Because of the particular feeding behaviour of these insects that feed exclusively on xylem sap, these datasets clearly improve the herbivory collection of insects belonging to this niche. I have checked all access numbers and it seems that authors correctly uploaded all their RAW and processed files to NCBI and GigaScience databases. The RAW reads are not yet publicly accessible but I am sure they will become after acceptance of the manuscript.
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