A sexual reproduction transcriptome for the meroplanktonic diatom Cylindrotheca closterium

Two compatible Cylindrotheca closterium strains of opposite mating type, ZW2.20 (MT+) and CA1.15 (MT-), were dark-synchronised for 36h, mixed together and then transferred to continuous light. As a control, the two mating types were grown separately and were only mixed when RNA-samples were harvested. At 3 different time points, RNASeq-samples were harvested: at 9, 14 and 27 h after mating initiation (the peak moments of paired cells, gamete/zygote formation and auxosporulation respectively). For each condition (control versus mating) and each time point, 3 biological replicates were available. Paired-end (2x150 bp) sequencing was performed on an Illumina NextSeq500 for all 18 samples in this study.