Testis and ovary transcriptome sequencing of plethodontid salamanders

Plethodontid salamanders are the largest family of salamanders and are classic models for studying the effect of rapidly evolving courtship pheromones on mating behavior and reproductive success. Despite interests in plethodontid reproduction, very little is known about the molecular composition of salamander sperm and egg, as the extraordinary sizes of their genomes have impaired the development of various omic-scale resources. To identify what genes may be expressed in salamander gametes, we performed PacBio IsoSeq transcriptome sequencing of testis and ovary from two plethodontid species, Plethodon shermani and Desmognathus ocoee, in biological duplicate (n=8). As the first detailed study of salamander reproductive tissues, this study partially fills in a critical taxonomic gap in the study of fertilization genes in vertebrates.