Transcriptional atlas of Daphnia magna

Transcriptomics studies are more likely to achieve predictive results when they rely on tissue- and cell-specific transcriptional data. Identification of cell types in novel model organisms by their transcriptional profiles is difficult without data on transcriptional differences among major tissues and anatomical features. Here we report the first dataset on tissue- and organ-specific transcriptomics in freshwater plankton crustacean Daphnia magna, reporting markers of embryos, hemocytes, gut, carapace, antennae-2, and head, as well as the remaining carcass. Embryos are the most transcriptionally different from adults' features, with antennae and carapace being the most differentiated among them. We demonstrate that transcriptional markers of embryos vs. adults and of various adult anatomical features can be used to provide validation and functional explanation to published differential expression in response to environmental factors like infection, hypoxia, toxicants, or kairomones; to annotate Daphnia single cell data; and to ask questions about transcriptional diversification within extended gene families.