Transcriptome profiling for developmental stages Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis with focus on wing development and metamorphosis

A white-spotted flower chafer Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis widely distributed in Asian countries is traditionally used in oriental medicine. This study explored gene expression abundance with respect to wing development and metamorphosis in P. b. seulensis based on the large-scale RNA-seq data. The transcriptome assembly consists of 23,551 high-quality transcripts which are approximately 96.7% covered. We found 265 wing development genes, 19 metamorphosis genes, and 1,314 candidates. Of the 1,598 genes, 1,594 are included exclusively in cluster 4 with similar gene co-expression patterns. The network centrality analyses showed that wing development- and metamorphosis-related genes have a high degree of betweenness centrality and are expressed most highly in eggs, moderately in pupa and adults, and lowest in larva. This study provides some meaningful clues for elucidating the genetic modulation mechanism of wing development and metamorphosis in P. b. seulensis.

Automated summary

In this study, the gene expression abundance related to wing development and metamorphosis in the white-spotted flower chafer Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis was explored based on large-scale RNA-seq data. The transcriptome assembly consisted of 23,551 high-quality transcripts with a coverage of approximately 96.7%. A total of 265 wing development genes, 19 metamorphosis genes, and 1,314 candidates were identified. Network centrality analyses revealed that wing development- and metamorphosis-related genes had a high degree of betweenness centrality. These genes were expressed most highly in eggs, moderately in pupa and adults, and lowest in larva. This study provides valuable clues for understanding the genetic modulation mechanism of wing development and metamorphosis in P. b. seulensis.