sexta as a model system for research on fundamental processes in insect physiology and biochemistry. The genome sequence will aid current and future studies using M. sexta genome contains 28 chromosomes, with a genome size of ~500 MB. sexta can be found from Massachusetts to northern California, and south as far as Argentina and Chile. Adults are active and fly at dusk, and females lay eggs on the leaves of host plants. After emergence, adults feed on the nectar from flowers. At the end of the last larval instar, larvae burrow into the soil and pupate. Larvae grow to a very large size, reaching weights of 10-12 grams in the 5th larval instar. sexta larvae feed on plants in the family Solanaceae. sexta represents a powerful, well developed, and tractable experimental system.

sexta over the past 40+ years have included many areas of insect biology, including neurobiology, endocrine regulation, chemical sensing (chemoreception, sexual and feeding attractants), behavior, development, metamorphosis, immunology, antimicrobial defenses, locomotion and flight, digestive and gut physiology, toxicology, parasitism, microbial interactions, pathology, and plant-insect interactions. sexta serves as one of the most important insect models for invertebrate physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Manduca sexta (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) is commonly known as the tobacco hornworm or Carolina sphinx moth.

Download tobacco hornworm