De Novo Transcriptome Assembly of Cucurbita Pepo L. Leaf Tissue Infested by Aphis Gossypii

Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.), extensively cultivated in temperate areas, belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family and it is a species with great economic value. One major threat related to zucchini cultivation is the damage imposed by the cotton/melon aphid Aphis gossypii Glover (Homoptera: Aphididae). We performed RNA-sequencing on cultivar “San Pasquale” leaves, uninfested and infested by A. gossypii, that were collected at three time points (24, 48, and 96 h post infestation). Then, we combined all high-quality reads for de novo assembly of the transcriptome. This resource was primarily established to be used as a reference for gene expression studies in order to investigate the transcriptome reprogramming of zucchini plants following aphid infestation. In addition, raw reads will be valuable for new experiments based on the latest bioinformatic tools and analytical approaches. The assembled transcripts will serve as an important reference for sequence-based studies and for primer design. Both datasets can be used to support/improve the prediction of protein-coding genes in the zucchini genome, which has been recently released into the public domain.

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