OBJECTIVES: Soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura; SBA) is the most economically damaging insect of soybean (Glycine max) in the United States. One previous study demonstrated that avirulent (biotype 1) and virulent (biotype 2) biotypes could co-occur and interact on resistant (i.e., Rag1) and susceptible soybean resulting in induced susceptibility after 11 days of feeding. The main objective of this research was to employ RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technique to compare the induced susceptibility effect of biotype 2 on susceptible and resistant soybean at day 1 and day 11 (i.e., both susceptible and resistant soybean were initially challenged by biotype 2 and the effect was monitored through biotype 1 populations). DATA DESCRIPTION: We investigated susceptible and Rag1 transcriptome response to SBA feeding in soybean plants colonized by biotype 1 in the presence or absence of an inducer population (i.e., biotype 2). Ten RNA datasets are reported with 266,535,654 sequence reads (55.2 GB) obtained from pooled samples derived from the leaves collected at day 1 and day 11 post SBA infestation. A comprehensive understanding of these transcriptome data will enhance our understanding of interactions among soybean and two different biotypes of soybean aphids at the molecular level.
