Pyrosequencing the Midgut Transcriptome of the Banana Weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Reveals Multiple Protease-Like Transcripts.

The banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus is an important and serious insect pest in most banana and plantain-growing areas of the world. In spite of the economic importance of this insect pest very little genomic and transcriptomic information exists for this species. In the present study, we characterized the midgut transcriptome of C. sordidus using massive 454-pyrosequencing. We generated over 590,000 sequencing reads that assembled into 30,840 contigs with more than 400 bp, representing a significant expansion of existing sequences available for this insect pest. Among them, 16,427 contigs contained one or more GO terms. In addition, 15,263 contigs were assigned an EC number. In-depth transcriptome analysis identified genes potentially involved in insecticide resistance, peritrophic membrane biosynthesis, immunity-related function and defense against pathogens, and Bacillus thuringiensis toxins binding proteins as well as multiple enzymes involved with protein digestion. This transcriptome will provide a valuable resource for understanding larval physiology and for identifying novel target sites and management approaches for this important insect pest.