Project Number: 3625-22000-016-23
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 25, 2006
End Date: Jun 27, 2008

Objective:
The objective of this cooperative research project is to create a BAC (Bacterial Artificial Chromosome) library for Western corn rootworm (WCR) (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera), and begin characterizing it in preparation for proposing a WCR genome sequencing project.

Approach:
We will create F1 sibling crosses of WCR from a laboratory colony. It is hoped that enough offspring can be obtained from a single pair to obtain adequate quantities of genomic DNA to construct a BAC library. However, such crosses are often less fertile due to inbreeding depression than crosses of unrelated individuals. Alternatively, mass mating of siblings may be necessary. The DNA from the offspring will be used to create a BAC library, a highly technical job that will be contracted out to a commercial enterprise specializing in such work. Given the large genome size of WCR, it is anticipated that genome coverage of 4X or 5X may be achievable. Characterization of the library will be initiated, and will ultimately include more precise estimates of the genome size, BAC-end sequencing, and restriction-mapping of fragments, all in preparation for proposing a WCR genome sequencing project.