Sequence, assembly and count datasets of viruses associated to the pine processionary moth (Denis & Schiffermüller) (Lepidoptera, Notodontidae) identified from transcriptomic high-throughput sequencing.

The pine processionary moth is a Lepidopteran pest species occurring in the Western Mediterranean. It causes heavy pine defoliations and it is a public and animal health concern because of its urticating caterpillars. Very little is known about the viruses associated to this species, as only two viruses were described so far.

Integrated miRNA and transcriptome profiling to explore the molecular determinism of convergent adaptation to corn in two lepidopteran pests of agriculture.

Background: The degree to which adaptation to same environment is determined by similar molecular mechanisms, is a topic of broad interest in evolutionary biology, as an indicator of evolutionary predictability. We wished to address if adaptation to the same host plant in phytophagous insects involved related gene expression patterns. We compared sRNA-Seq and RNA-Seq data between two pairs of taxa of Ostrinia and Spodoptera frugiperda sharing maize as host-plant.

Coding-Complete Genome Sequence of a Partitivirus Isolated from Pine Processionary Moth Eggs.

Two coding-complete nucleotide sequences of a partitivirus (family ) were discovered in transcriptomic data sets obtained from eggs of the Lepidoptera Each segment encodes a single open reading frame, and these two segments are predicted to encode an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and a coat protein, respectively.

Coding-Complete Genome Sequences of an Iteradensovirus and an Alphapermutotetra-Like Virus Identified from the Pine Processionary Moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) in Portugal.

The coding-complete genome sequences of an iteradensovirus (family ) and an alphapermutotetra-like virus (family ) were discovered from transcriptomic data sets obtained from larvae collected in Portugal. Each of the coding-complete genome sequences of these viruses contains three main open reading frames (ORFs).

Complete mitogenome data from a European specimen of (Walker, 1859) (Lepidoptera, Pyraloidea, Crambidae, Pyraustinae).

We present an assembly and annotation of the mitogenome of a European specimen of the Adzuki bean borer, (Walker, 1859). The data were obtained by combining WGS data issue of a and a previously published sequence library (Gschloessl et al., 2018).

Transcriptomic response of female adult moths to host and non-host plants in two closely related species.

Background: Divergent selection has been shown to promote speciation in many taxa and especially in phytophagous insects. In the Ostrinia species complex, the European corn borer (ECB) and adzuki bean borer (ABB) are two sibling species specialized to different host plants. The first is a well-known maize pest, whereas the second is a polyphagous species associated with various dicotyledons.

New WGS data and annotation of the heterosomal . autosomal localization of (Lepidoptera, Crambidae) nuclear genomic scaffolds.

Here, we introduce new whole-genome shotgun sequencing and annotation data describing the autosomal . Z-heterosomal localization of nuclear genomic scaffolds of the moth species . Four WGS libraries (corresponding to 2 males and 2 females) were sequenced with an Illumina HiSeq2500 sequencing technology, and the so-called method was applied to distinguish between autosomal and Z-heterosomal scaffolds based on sequencing depth comparisons between homogametic (male) and heterogametic (female) libraries.

genome and transcriptome resources of the Adzuki bean borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae).

We present a draft genome assembly with a prediction and automated functional annotation of coding genes, and a reference transcriptome of the Adzuki bean borer, , based on RNA sequencing of various tissues and developmental stages. The genome assembly spans 419 Mb, has a GC content of 37.4% and includes 26,120 predicted coding genes.

Larval transcriptomic response to host plants in two related phytophagous lepidopteran species: implications for host specialization and species divergence.

Background: Most phytophagous insects have morphological, behavioral and physiological adaptations allowing them to specialize on one or a few plant species. Identifying the mechanisms involved in host plant specialization is crucial to understand the role of divergent selection between different environments in species diversification, and to identify sustainable targets for the management of insect pest species. In the present study, we measured larval phenotypic and transcriptomic responses to host plants in two related phytophagous lepidopteran species: the European corn borer (ECB), a worldwide pest of maize, and the adzuki bean borer (ABB), which feeds of various dicotyledons.

Draft genome and reference transcriptomic resources for the urticating pine defoliator Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae).

The pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) is the main pine defoliator in the Mediterranean region. Its urticating larvae cause severe human and animal health concerns in the invaded areas. This species shows a high phenotypic variability for various traits, such as phenology, fecundity and tolerance to extreme temperatures.

Animal choruses emerge from receiver psychology.

Synchrony and alternation in large animal choruses are often viewed as adaptations by which cooperating males increase their attractiveness to females or evade predators. Alternatively, these seemingly composed productions may simply emerge by default from the receiver psychology of mate choice. This second, emergent property hypothesis has been inferred from findings that females in various acoustic species ignore male calls that follow a neighbor's by a brief interval, that males often adjust the timing of their call rhythm and reduce the incidence of ineffective, following calls, and from simulations modeling the collective outcome of male adjustments.

Microsatellite evolutionary rate and pattern in Schistocerca gregaria inferred from direct observation of germline mutations.

Unravelling variation among taxonomic orders regarding the rate of evolution in microsatellites is crucial for evolutionary biology and population genetics research. The mean mutation rate of microsatellites tends to be lower in arthropods than in vertebrates, but data are scarce and mostly concern accumulation of mutations in model species. Based on parent-offspring segregations and a hierarchical Bayesian model, the mean rate of mutation in the orthopteran insect Schistocerca gregaria was estimated at 2.

Host specialization involving attraction, avoidance and performance, in two phytophagous moth species.

Host specialization plays a key role in the extreme diversification of phytophagous insects. Whereas proximate mechanisms of specialization have been studied extensively, their consequences for species divergence remain unclear. Preference for, and performance on hosts are thought to be a major source of divergence in phytophagous insects.

Genomics of adaptation to host-plants in herbivorous insects.

Herbivorous insects represent the most species-rich lineages of metazoans. The high rate of diversification in herbivorous insects is thought to result from their specialization to distinct host-plants, which creates conditions favorable for the build-up of reproductive isolation and speciation. These conditions rely on constraints against the optimal use of a wide range of plant species, as each must constitute a viable food resource, oviposition site and mating site for an insect.

Comparative analysis of two phenologically divergent populations of the pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) by de novo transcriptome sequencing.

The pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa is a Mediterranean lepidopteran defoliator that experiences a rapid range expansion towards higher latitudes and altitudes due to the current climate warming. Its phenology - the time of sexual reproduction - is certainly a key trait for the local adaptation of the processionary moth to climatic conditions. Moreover, an exceptional case of allochronic differentiation was discovered ca.

'Becoming a species by becoming a pest' or how two maize pests of the genus Ostrinia possibly evolved through parallel ecological speciation events.

New agricultural pest species attacking introduced crops may evolve from pre-existing local herbivores by ecological speciation, thereby becoming a species by becoming a pest. We compare the evolutionary pathways by which two maize pests (the Asian and the European corn borers, ACB and ECB) in the genus Ostrinia (Lepidoptera, Crambidae) probably diverged from an ancestral species close to the current Adzuki bean borer (ABB). We typed larval Ostrinia populations collected on maize and dicotyledons across China and eastern Siberia, at microsatellite and mitochondrial loci.

Genetic mapping of two components of reproductive isolation between two sibling species of moths, Ostrinia nubilalis and O. scapulalis.

We report the quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping of reproductive isolation traits between Ostrinia nubilalis (the European corn borer) and its sibling species O. scapulalis (the Adzuki bean borer), focusing on two traits: mating isolation (mi) and pheromone production (Pher). Four genetic maps were generated from two backcross families, with two maps (one chromosomal map and one linkage map) per backcross.

Genetic architecture of sensory exploitation: QTL mapping of female and male receiver traits in an acoustic moth.

The evolution of extravagant sexual traits by sensory exploitation occurs if males incidentally evolve features that stimulate females owing to a pre-existing environmental response that arose in the context of natural selection. The sensory exploitation process is thus expected to leave a specific genetic imprint, a pleiotropic control of the original environmental response and the novel sexual response in females. However, females may be subsequently selected to improve their discrimination of environmental and sexual stimuli.

When history repeats itself: exploring the genetic architecture of host-plant adaptation in two closely related lepidopteran species.

The genus Ostrinia includes two allopatric maize pests across Eurasia, namely the European corn borer (ECB, O. nubilalis) and the Asian corn borer (ACB, O. furnacalis).

De novo transcriptomic resources for two sibling species of moths: Ostrinia nubilalis and O. scapulalis.

Background: This study aimed at enhancing the transcriptomic resources for two sibling species of moths, Ostrinia scapulalis (Adzuki bean borer) and Ostrinia nubilalis (European corn borer), as a foundation for future researches on their divergence history. Previous works on these species had shown that their genetic divergence was low, while they were reproductively isolated in natura and specialized on different host plants. Comparative genomic resources will help facilitate the understanding of the mechanisms involved in this isolation and adaptation to the host plants.

Beyond an AFLP genome scan towards the identification of immune genes involved in plague resistance in Rattus rattus from Madagascar.

Genome scans using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers became popular in nonmodel species within the last 10 years, but few studies have tried to characterize the anonymous outliers identified. This study follows on from an AFLP genome scan in the black rat (Rattus rattus), the reservoir of plague (Yersinia pestis infection) in Madagascar. We successfully sequenced 17 of the 22 markers previously shown to be potentially affected by plague-mediated selection and associated with a plague resistance phenotype.

Genetic architecture of sexual selection: QTL mapping of male song and female receiver traits in an acoustic moth.

Models of indirect (genetic) benefits sexual selection predict linkage disequilibria between genes that influence male traits and female preferences, owing to non-random mate choice or physical linkage. Such linkage disequilibria can accelerate the evolution of traits and preferences to exaggerated levels. Both theory and recent empirical findings on species recognition suggest that such linkage disequilibria may result from physical linkage or pleiotropy, but very little work has addressed this possibility within the context of sexual selection.

Long microsatellites and unusually high levels of genetic diversity in the Orthoptera.

Much remains to be learned about the mutational processes governing the evolution of microsatellite repeat regions and the associated levels of genetic diversity observed at microsatellite markers across populations or species. An extensive survey of microsatellite variation in 210 insect species from six major orders revealed that within Orthopterans, which are characterized by giant genomes, levels of genetic diversity were ~20% higher and microsatellite repeat arrays were longer than in any other group. Because of the mutation dependence on repeat length, this result suggests a higher microsatellite loci mutation rate in the Orthoptera.

From Russia with lobe: genetic differentiation in trilobed uncus Ostrinia spp. follows food plant, not hairy legs.

Trilobed uncus taxa of the genus Ostrinia (Lepidoptera, Crambidae) illustrate the complex relationship, at early stages of speciation, between reproductive isolation and differentiation in morphology, resource use and genetic variation. On the basis of behaviour and ecology, we recently hypothesized that individuals with small mid-tibiae belong to two distinct species depending on host plant--O. nubilalis and O.