Transcriptome of the New Zealand brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)

New Zealand is overrun with invasive mammal predators including rats, stoats, feral cats and possums all of which damage, or prey on, New Zealand’s unique plant and animal life. Not only is NZ’s biodiversity at risk due to the success of these invaders, but also its economy as many of these pests transmit disease to farm and game animals. As such, the NZ government has initiated a plan to make the country predator free by 2050. Although there are adequate means to decimate invasive predator populations, it is widely agreed that current technologies are not sufficient for total eradication. An improvement in technologies is required. The Achilles Heel is one such developmental technology that attempts to exploit variation in the genes of target species that are vital to key physiological or cellular pathways, so that species-specific knock-down assays such as siRNA can be developed and delivered. To help in this endeavour we have assembled and annotated a mixed transcriptome from heart and liver tissue of the New Zealand brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula.