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    Adaptation of Helicoverpa armigera to soybean peptidase inhibitors is associated with the transgenerational upregulation of serine peptidases.

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    This is the final version. Available from MDPI via the DOI in this record. Data Availability Statement: The RNA and bisulfite sequencing data generated in this study have been deposited in the NCBI SRA under the BioProject accession number PRJNA884530.Molecular phenotypes induced by environmental stimuli can be transmitted to offspring through epigenetic inheritance. Using transcriptome profiling, we show that the adaptation of Helicoverpa armigera larvae to soybean peptidase inhibitors (SPIs) is associated with large-scale gene expression changes including the upregulation of genes encoding serine peptidases in the digestive system. Furthermore, approximately 60% of the gene expression changes induced by SPIs persisted in the next generation of larvae fed on SPI-free diets including genes encoding regulatory, oxidoreductase, and protease functions. To investigate the role of epigenetic mechanisms in regulating SPI adaptation, the methylome of the digestive system of first-generation larvae (fed on a diet with and without SPIs) and of the progeny of larvae exposed to SPIs were characterized. A comparative analysis between RNA-seq and Methyl-seq data did not show a direct relationship between differentially methylated and differentially expressed genes, while trypsin and chymotrypsin genes were unmethylated in all treatments. Rather, DNA methylation potential epialleles were associated with transcriptional and translational controls; these may play a regulatory role in the adaptation of H. armigera to SPIs. Altogether, our findings provided insight into the mechanisms of insect adaptation to plant antiherbivore defense proteins and illustrated how large-scale transcriptional reprograming of insect genes can be transmitted across generations.Fundação De Amparo À Pesquisa Do Estado De São Paulo (FAPESP)e Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior Brasil (CAPES)Fundação De Amparo À Pesquisa Do Estado De São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq
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