Transcriptome analysis and comparison reveal divergence between two invasive whitefly cryptic species

Background Invasive species are valuable model systems for examining the evolutionary processes and molecular mechanisms associated with their specific characteristics by comparison with closely related species. Over the past 20 years, two species of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci species complex, Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) and Mediterranean (MED), have both spread from their origin Middle East/Mediterranean to many countries despite their apparent differences in many life history parameters. Previously, we have sequenced the transcriptome of MED. In this study, we sequenced the transcriptome of MEAM1 and took a comparative genomic approach to investigate the transcriptome evolution and the genetic factors underlying the differences between MEAM1 and MED.