Gene expression profiles of the respiratory tree of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus during aestivation by RNA-seq

Sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea; Echinodermata) cycle annually between aestivation, when water temperature is above about 25°C in the summer, and active life, when temperature is below about 18°C. We used RNA-Seq to determine gene expression profiles of respiratory tree tissue of A. japonicus during non-aestivation (NA), deep-aestivation (DA), and arousal from aestivation (AA). Overall design: At least 15 individuals per stage, respiratory tree at NA, DA and AA stages were used for our experiments.