Interspecific Differential Expression Analysis of RNA-Seq Data Yields Insight into Life Cycle Variation in Hydractiniid Hydrozoans.

ABSTRACT: Hydrozoans are known for their complex life cycles, which can alternate between an asexually reproducing polyp stage and a sexually reproducing medusa stage. Most hydrozoan species, however, lack a free-living medusa stage and instead display a developmentally truncated form, called a medusoid or sporosac, which generally remains attached to the polyp. Although evolutionary transitions in medusa truncation and loss have been investigated phylogenetically, little is known about the genes involved in the development and loss of this life cycle stage. Here, we present a new workflow for evaluating differential expression (DE) between two species using short read Illumina RNA-seq data. Through interspecific DE analyses between two hydractiniid hydrozoans, Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus and Podo

SUBMITTER: Sanders SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4558869 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature