Transcriptomics studies of Migdolus fryanus and search for target genes for insect control in sugarcane

Abstract

The sugarcane is a crop of great importance to many countries, especially Brazil. However, it is common the occurrence of problems which may affect productivity, causing large financial losses to the sugarcane sector. Among these problems is the attack of sugarcane by insects. A pest that has caused losses in the sugarcane culture is the beetle Migdolus fryanus. The larvae of this insect feed on the rhizome of the sugarcane, reducing productivity and causing death of plants. The lack of an efficient method to control this pest and the complete absence of genomic information on it reinforces the need for such studies, which is necessary for the development of control methods. Thus, this project aims at analyzing the transcriptome of Migdolus fryanus and establish a genomic database. In this database is intended to identify genes of biotechnological interest and select target genes for insect control through gene silencing. Thus, we intend to evaluate the application of RNA interference technology, which besides being a promising tool to generate plants resistant to insect attack, will allow us to study gene function of new transcripts identified in the Migdolus fryanus transcriptome. (AU)