Premium
Transcriptome profiling of individual larvae of two different developmental modes in the poecilogonous polychaete Streblospio benedicti (Spionidae)
Author(s) -
Marsh Adam G.,
Fielman Kevin T.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of experimental zoology part b: molecular and developmental evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1552-5015
pISSN - 1552-5007
DOI - 10.1002/jez.b.21037
Subject(s) - biology , marine larval ecology , transcriptome , larva , marine invertebrates , biological dispersal , gene , gene expression profiling , evolutionary biology , phenotype , gene expression , genetics , ecology , zoology , population , demography , sociology
Understanding the range of biochemical and physiological phenotypes in a cohort of embryos or larvae is crucial to understanding the lifespan, dispersal potential, and recruitment success of the early life history stages of a species. In this study, a novel kinetic assay has been employed to profile the transcriptome pool complexity in individual larvae of both planktotrophic and lecithotrophic developmental modes in the poecilogonous polycheate Streblospio benedicti . Using a nano‐scale synthesis strategy, the mRNA pool in a single embryo or larva can be amplified into cDNA for quantitative characterization in a high‐throughput, kinetic reannealing assay in a 96–well, microtiterplate format. This assay generates transcript‐pool complexity estimates at 1°C temperature increments for each sample producing 3,360 quantitative measurements per 96–well plate. Measuring transcriptome complexity on 8 individual planktotrophic and 8 individual lecithotrophic larvae (with 4 duplicate assays for each individual) reveals a more complex gene expression profile in planktotrophic larvae and a lower level of interindividual variation in expression patterns in lecithotrophic larvae. Although differences in these gene expression patterns are more likely due to physiological differences between feeding and non‐feeding larval types in these late‐stage individuals, this is one of the first assessments of inter‐individual variation in gene expression patterns in marine invertebrate larvae and indicates a large potential for developmental variability. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 304B:238–249, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.