Transcript expression plasticity as a response to alternative larval host plants in the speciation process of corn and rice strains of Spodoptera frugiperda

Our main purpose was to evaluate the expression of plastic and evolved genes involved in ecological speciation in the noctuid moth Spodoptera frugiperda, the fall armyworm (FAW); and to demonstrate how host plants might influence lineage differentiation in this polyphagous insect. FAW is an important pest of several crops worldwide, and it is differentiated into host plant-related strains, corn (CS) and rice strains (RS). RNA-Seq and transcriptome characterization were applied to evaluate unbiased genetic expression differences in larvae from the two strains, fed on primary (corn) and alternative (rice) host plants.