A Combinatorial Single-Molecule Real-Time and Illumina Sequencing Analysis of Postembryonic Gene Expression in the Asian Citrus Psyllid Diaphorina citri

Huanglongbing (HLB) is a systemic plant disease caused by ' Liberibacter asiaticus ( Las)' and transmitted by . acquires the Las bacteria in the nymph stage and transmits it in the adult stage, indicating that molting from the nymph to adult stages is crucial for HLB transmission. However, the available reference genomes are incomplete, and gene function studies have been limited to date. In the current research, PacBio single-molecule real-time (SMRT) and Illumina sequencing were performed to investigate the transcriptome of nymphs and adults. In total, 10,641 full-length, non-redundant transcripts (FLNRTs), 594 alternative splicing (AS) events, 4522 simple sequence repeats (SSRs), 1086 long-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), 281 transcription factors (TFs), and 4459 APA sites were identified. Furthermore, 3746 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between nymphs and adults were identified, among which 30 DEGs involved in the Hippo signaling pathway were found. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) further validated the expression levels of 12 DEGs and showed a positive correlation with transcriptome data. Finally, the spatiotemporal expression pattern of genes involved in the Hippo signaling pathway exhibited high expression in the testis, ovary, and egg. Silencing of the transcriptional co-activator ( ) gene significantly increased mortality and decreased the cumulative molting. Our results provide useful information and a reliable data resource for gene function research of .