RNA-seq and Insect pests: new methods for the identification and the analysis of sex-specific genes in species of economic or sanitary interests.

Insects are among the largest taxonomic animal groups on Earth. In some cases, their interactions with humans can be harmful and the knowledge of the lifecycle of insect species, e.g. disease vectors and agricultural pests, opens new chances to develop eco-sustainable control strategies, alternative to pesticides. Reproduction and sex determination are at the same time crucial aspects to understand insect biology and optimal targets to limit their population growth and diffusion. We are applying RNA-seq and digital gene expression analysis to the study of sex determination in Insect species. In particular we are comparing de novo assembled transcriptomes of early sexed embryonic populations of the agricultural pest Ceratitis capitata (Diptera, Tephritidae) to identify the unknown primary signal of sex determination in this species. We are producing de novo transcriptomes from adult males and females of the two hematophagous dipteran non-model species Aedes albopictus (Diptera, Culicidae) and Phlebotomus perniciosus (Diptera, Psychodidae), to identify genes with sex-specific or sex-biased expression, potentially involved in sex determination pathway of these vector species. We are also developing new graphical interfaces and on-line databases for comparative genomic analyses and digital gene expression analyses in biological samples with opposite sexes.