Functional characterization of immune-related cells in a cnidarian

We performed bulk RNA transcriptome analysis of a Nematostella vectensis transgenic reporter line expressing mCherry under the regulation of the RIG-I-like receptor (RLRb). We sorted gastrula stage embryo derived cells treated from zygotes injected with the viral mimic poly(I:C) using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). RNA was extracted from mCherry positive and negative cells and used for constructing libraries for RNA sequencing.Additionally, two-day-old wild-type animals were dissociated and subjected to intracellular immunofluorescence. RLRb cells with high (approximately 15%) and low expression levels were isolated using FACS and processed for RNA sequencing.