Salivary gland transcriptome of Aphis gossypii
The cotton-melon aphid, Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is an extremely polyphagous insect that feeds on over 25 plant families, including Malvaceae (cotton, okra), Cucurbitaceae (melon, zucchini, watermelon, cucumber), and Solanaceae (eggplant), causing up to 40% yield loss . In addition, it transmits over 50 phytoviruses, primarily from three families: Potyviridae, Bromoviridae, and Luteoviridae . The use of insecticides was one of the most prevalent methods for controlling A. gossypii. However, the rapid development of insecticide resistance and the negative impacts of insecticides on the environment shifted the paradigm of research to the search for plant genetic resources for the development of resistant crops. However, in order to get insight into the interaction between aphids and plants at a molecular level, it is important to develop a comprehensive understanding of salivary proteins. Nevertheless, the knowledge of salivary proteins in A. gossypii has remained elusive and unstudied thus far. Therefore, the present study aims to identify salivary proteins from salivary glands using transcriptome sequencing.