Potato/tomato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) cDNA library construction

Zebra Chip (ZC) is a newly emerged disease of potato tubers in Central America and South USA that causes substantial economical losses annually. Active researches have been concentrating on finding the causal agent of ZC. Potato/tomato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) is closely linked to the occurrence of ZC, even though the exact mode of potato/tomato psyllid’s involvement is still unknown. Toxic saliva and microbial pathogens harbored in potato/tomato psyllid has been suggested as putative agents responsible for ZC. A cDNA library derived from total mRNA extract of potato/tomato psyllid was constructed in this study. 100 of these clones were randomly selected and sequenced. Comparison with functional gene databases showed similarity to plant, arthropod and bacteria sequences. Further research direction is to sequence all cDNA clones to identify any genes relate to salivary gland and viral proteins.