MtrBTN transcriptomic profile

MtrBTN is a transmissible cancer lineage, with a Mytilus trossulus founder host, and able to infect various species of blue mussels. Cancerous cells are found circulating within the hemolymph of affected mussels, as a "leukemia-like" disease.In order to identify the molecular basis of the cancerous phenotypes, we sequenced and compared the transcriptomic profiles of cancerous and normal circulating cells. As the founder host of the malignant lineage is a M. trossulus individual and the current host in France is M. edulis, we used both species in comparative analyses.