Tissue-associated profiling of gene expression in the fifth-instar larvae of Chinese Oak Silkworm, Antheraea pernyi

Antheraea pernyi is an edible insect with important economic value in both traditional and non-traditional applications. Elucidating the details of gene expression variation among different A. pernyi larval tissues will greatly improve our knowledge about A. pernyi biology and promote its protection and breeding. Here, tissue-based transcriptome and gene co-expression network analysis were performed for the fifth-instar larval tissues of testis, midgut, Malpighian tubule, head, trachea, silk gland, integument, hemocyte, ovary, and fat body. A total of 1,991 tissue-associated genes, including 62 transcription factor-encoding genes, were correlated with the development and functions of these tissues. Moreover, 10 gene co-expression modules that were highly correlated with the tissues were also determined. The most important 30 genes with top connectivity in each module were identified as hub genes to form the core co-expression network with important biological functions in the corresponding tissues. Based on these resources, further in-depth studies should be conducted to determine the roles of candidate genes and transcription factors governing tissue development and trait formation in A. pernyi.