Transcriptome sequencing for identification of diapause-associated genes in fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea Drury

Fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea Drury (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) is extremely adaptable and highly invasive in China as a defoliator of ornamental and forest trees. Both voltinism and diapause strategies of fall webworm in China are variable, and this variability contributes to it invasiveness. Little is known about molecular regulation of diapause in fall webworm. To gain insight into possible mechanisms of diapause induction, high-throughput RNA-seq data were generated from non-diapause pupae (NDP) and diapause pupae (DP). A total of 58,151 unigenes were assembled and researched against nine public databases. In total, 29,013 up-regulated and 3451 down-regulated unigenes were differentially expressed by DP when compared with those of NDP. Genes encoding proteins such as UDP-glycosyl transferase (UGT), cytochrome P450 and Hsp70 were predicted to be involved in diapause. Moreover, GO function and KEGG pathway enrichments were performed on all differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and showed that cell cycle and insulin signaling pathways may be related to the diapause of the fall webworm. This study provides valuable information about the fall webworm transcriptome for future gene function research, especially as it relates to diapause.