Genome-wide characterization and developmental expression profiling of long non-coding RNAs inSogatella furcifera

The genome-wide characterization of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in insects demonstrates their importance in fundamental biological processes. Essentially, an in-depth understanding of the functional repertoire of lncRNA in insects is pivotal to insect resources utilization and sustainable pest control. Using a custom bioinformatics pipeline, we identified 1861 lncRNAs encoded by 1852 loci in theSogatella furciferagenome. We profiled lncRNA expression in different developmental stages and observed that the expression of lncRNAs is more highly temporally restricted compared to protein-coding genes. More up-regulatedSogatella furciferalncRNA expressed in the embryo, 4th and 5th instars, suggesting that increased lncRNA levels may play a role in these developmental stages. We compared the relationship between the expression ofSogatella furciferalncRNA and its nearest protein gene and found that lncRNAs were more correlated to their downstream coding neighbors on the opposite strand. Our genome-wide profiling of lncRNAs inSogatella furciferaidentifies exciting candidates for characterization of lncRNAs, and also provides information on lncRNA regulation during insect development.