Homarus americanus larval development and metamorphosis

Transcriptional profiling of larval stage I - IV of Homarus americanus, for assessment of stage specific developmental gene expression. Individuals from each stage were gathered in July of 2009 and 2010. A reference design was used to permit comparison of all stages. Study aims included assessment of global gene expression of larval development of healthy larvae, and identifying novel molecular pathways involved in H. americanus development. Four condition experiment, stage I - IV individuals: 10 biological replicates per stage. Stages collected independantly from each other; sampling conducted over 2 seasons. Reference sample prepared from pooled RNA of 4 individuals per stage.