2.10 Transcriptome profiling of the Antechinus flavipesbreeding
To search for transcripts associated with obligate semelparity, we
performed differential gene expression analysis of a single A.
flavipes population (Samford Valley, Queensland, Australia) from August
to October 2018. Every two days, we microscopically examined female
urine for cornified, anuclear vaginal epithelial cells, a sign of peak
oestrus (Selwood, 1980). Concurrent visual inspections of captured males
for behavioural changes (e.g., agitation) revealed evidence of stress
beginning in the last week of September, followed by progressive loss of
body condition (Figure S3 ). The practical and ethical
challenges of longitudinal sampling from a wild population limited the
number of samples that could be obtained. In this study, we present
transcriptomes of eight male and six female antechinuses [liver,
kidney, skeletal muscle, cerebrum, and reproductive tissues (testis and
ovary)]. See Supplemental Methods and Figure S4 for data
processing and differential expression procedures, and File S2for normalised counts.