Transcriptome sequencing of an ecologically important graminivorous sawfly: a resource for marker development

• Published in: Conservation genetics resources Vol. 3; no. 4; pp. 789 - 795
• Main Authors: Cook, N., Aziz, N., Hedley, P. E., Morris, J., Milne, L., Karley, A. J., Hubbard, S. F., Russell, J. R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.10.2011; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: agricultural land; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; birds; Conservation Biology/Ecology; Ecology; Evolutionary Biology; extinction; Food sources; foods; Gene expression; Gene flow; Genetic diversity; Genetic factors; Genetic markers; genetic variation; Hymenoptera; Invertebrates; larvae; Life Sciences; microsatellite repeats; Microsatellites; monitoring; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Population studies; risk; sawflies; Technical Review; transcriptome; Microsatellite; Sawfly; Next-generation sequencing; Hymenoptera; 454 Pyrosequencing
• ISSN: 1877-7252; 1877-7260
• DOI: 10.1007/s12686-011-9459-7

Sawfly larvae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) are an important, highly nutritious, invertebrate food source for farmland birds. Reduced numbers of farmland invertebrates are a possible factor contributing to the observed declines in many farmland bird populations associated with post-1950s intensification of agriculture. To date, studies on sawfly populations have been census-based and, therefore, the genetic factors underlying their declines are unknown. We have produced the first genetic resource for any sawfly species in the form of a de novo transcriptome assembly comprising 18,539 contiguous sequences (contigs) and 260 singletons. The assembly was sequenced using 454 pyrosequencing technology and produced 1,284 microsatellite markers for the common farmland sawfly Dolerus aeneus , which may also be useful in other closely-related species. These markers will facilitate monitoring of changes in genetic diversity and gene flow in sawfly populations therefore helping to predict extinction risk.