De novo construction of a transcriptome for the stink bug crop pest Chinavia impicticornis during late development

Abstract

Chinavia impicticornis is a Neotropical stink-bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) with economic importance for different crops. Little is known about the development of the species, as well as the genetic mechanisms that may favor the establishment of populations in cultivated plants. Here we conduct the first large-scale molecular study with C. impicticornis. We generated RNA-seq data for males and females, at two immature stages, for the genitalia separately and for the rest of the body. We assembled the transcriptome and conduct a functional annotation. De novo assembled transcriptome based on whole bodies and genitalia of males and females contained around 400,000 contigs with an average length of 688 bp. After pruning duplicated sequences and conducting a functional annotation, the final annotated transcriptome comprised 39,478 transcripts of which 12,665 had GO terms assigned. These novel datasets will provide invaluable data for the discovery of molecular processes related to morphogenesis and immature biology. We hope to contribute to the growing research on stink bug evo-devo as well as the development of bio-rational solutions for pest management.