TRANSCRIPTOME-WIDE ANALYSIS OF COCOA POD BORER (CONOPORMORPHA CRAMERELLA) REVEALED POTENTIAL TARGET GENES FOR CONTROL OF THE INSECT
Authors: Tan C. L., Rosmin K., Leong W. M.
Journal Issue: Malaysian Cocoa Journal, Volume 13(1)/2021
Keywords: Conopomorpha cramerella, transcriptome, cocoa pod borer, RNA interference, genome editing
Published On: 1/11/2021
Abstract
The cocoa pod borer, Conopomorpha cramerella (Snellen) is a serious pest in cocoa plantations in Southeast Asia. It causes significant losses in the crop. Unfortunately, genetic resources for this insect are extremely scarce. To improve these resources, we sequenced the transcriptome of C. cramerella representing the three stages of development, larva, pupa and adult moth using Illumina NovaSeq6000. We have identified a number of genes that are involved in reproduction and development such as genes involved in general function processes in the insect. Genes found to be involved in reproduction such as porin, dsx, bol and fruitless were associated with sex determination, spermatogenesis and pheromone binding. This serves as a valuable genetic repository of the insect for potential RNA interference and genome editing.