Genomic and Bioinformatic Resources for Psyllid Research

Psyllid species such as Diaphorina citri and Bactericera cockerelli are agricultural pests that cause extensive economic damage by feeding on important food crops and as vectors of plant pathogens. Analysis of psyllid genomes and transcriptomes can aid in the development of strategies to ameliorate this damage, including identification of pesticide resistance genes/pathways and development of miRNA-based pest control strategies. However, current genomic resources for psyllids are scarce and underdeveloped. The International Psyllid Genome Sequencing Consortium was formed to address this by developing genomic resources for psyllid species. To date, we have produced and thoroughly annotated total RNA and tissue specific transcriptome assemblies for Diaphorina citri and Bactericera cockerelli, and also produced a genome assembly of Diaphorina citri (recently upgraded using PacBio reads and PBJelly to produce an N50 of 38kb). We have begun annotation of the Diaphorina citri genome, including production of a gene set using Maker, identification of repeat regions, characterization of microRNAs, and the phylogenetic and functional characterization of the diverse microbiota present in D. citri. We have also created Psyllid.org, an online repository to generate, organize and distribute genomic resources to the psyllid research community. All data are made available to the scientific community via Genbank at NCBI.