In silico identification of effector proteins from generalist herbivore Spodoptera litura

BACKGROUND: The common cutworm, Spodoptera litura Fabricius is a leaf and fruit feeding generalist insect of the order Lepidoptera and a destructive agriculture pest. The broad host range of the herbivore is due to its ability to downregulate plant defense across different plants. The identity of Spodoptera litura released effectors that downregulate plant defense are largely unknown. The current study aims to identify genes encoding effector proteins from salivary glands of S. litura (Fab.). RESULTS: Head and salivary glands of Spodoptera litura were used for de-novo transcriptome analysis and effector prediction. Eight hundred ninety-nine proteins from the head and 330 from salivary gland were identified as secretory proteins. Eight hundred eight proteins from the head and 267 from salivary gland proteins were predicted to be potential effector proteins. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first report on identification of potential effectors from Spodoptera litura salivary glands. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-020-07196-4.