Differences in smallRNA expression profiles in Aphis gossypii in susceptible and resistant interactions with Cucumis melo

Aphis gossypii resistance in Cucumis melo is primarily attributed to the presence of a single dominant gene Vat, which is a member of the NBS-LRR super-family of resistance genes. Emerging data indicates that small RNAs (smRNA), especially microRNAs (miRNA), have diverse and important roles in regulating gene expression by translational repression in both plants and animals. To investigate the possible role of miRNAs and their target genes in this resistance mechanism, we constructed and analyzed two smRNA libraries, from A. gossypii raised on susceptible and resistant melon breeding lines respectively. Aphids were allowed to feed for 48 h, after which they were collected for RNA extraction. Low molecular weight RNA was sequentially ligated to 5’ and 3’ adapters and reverse transcribed. Size fractionated smRNA libraries were analyzed by Illumina deep sequencing . The deep sequencing data obtained from the two libraries was analysed to reveal any resistance induced smRNAs that when combined with target gene identification will contribute to a better understanding of the Vat-mediated aphid resistance.