Whitefly Network Analysis Reveals Gene Modules Involved in Host Plant Selection, Development and Evolution

Jiahui Tian; Haixia Zhan; Youssef Dewer; Biyun Zhang; Cheng Qu; Chen Luo; Fengqi Li; Shiyong Yang

doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.656649

Whitefly Network Analysis Reveals Gene Modules Involved in Host Plant Selection, Development and Evolution

Front Physiol. 2021 Apr 13:12:656649. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.656649. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Jiahui Tian^{1

2}, Haixia Zhan², Youssef Dewer³, Biyun Zhang², Cheng Qu², Chen Luo², Fengqi Li², Shiyong Yang^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ School of Ecology and Environment, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China.
² Beijing Key Laboratory of Environment Friendly Management on Fruit Diseases and Pests in North China, Institute of Plant and Environment Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Bioassay Research Department, Central Agricultural Pesticide Laboratory, Agricultural Research Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.
⁴ Collaborative Innovation Center of Recovery and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystem in Wanjiang Basin Co-Founded by Anhui Province and Ministry of Education, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China.

Abstract

Whiteflies are Hemipterans that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. They cause severe damage by direct feeding as well as transmitting plant viruses to a wide range of plants. However, it remains largely unknown which genes play a key role in development and host selection. In this study, weighted gene co-expression network analysis was applied to construct gene co-expression networks in whitefly. Nineteen gene co-expression modules were detected from 15560 expressed genes of whitefly. Combined with the transcriptome data of salivary glands and midgut, we identified three gene co-expression modules related to host plant selection. These three modules contain genes related to host-plant recognition, such as detoxification genes, chemosensory genes and some salivary gland-associated genes. Results of Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses elucidated the following pathways involved in these modules: lysosome, metabolic and detoxification pathways. The modules related to the development contain two co-expression modules; moreover, the genes were annotated to the development of chitin-based cuticle. This analysis provides a basis for future functional analysis of genes involved in host-plant recognition.

Keywords: co-expressed genes; development; host plant; weighted gene co-expression network analysis; whitefly.