Male Fathead Minnow Transcriptomes in Milwaukee Estuary System

Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) can be measured in waters across the United States, including the tributaries of the Great Lakes. The extent to which these contaminants affect gene expression in aquatic wildlife is unclear. This dataset presents the full hepatic transcriptomes of laboratory reared fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) caged at multiple sites within the Milwaukee Estuary area of concern and control sites. Following 4 days of in situ exposure, liver tissue was removed from males at each site for RNA extraction and sequencing, yielding a total of 116 samples from which libraries were prepared, pooled, and sequenced. For each exposure site, 179 chemical analytes were also assessed. These data were created with the intention of inviting research on possible transcriptomic changes observed in aquatic species exposed to CECs. Access to both full sequencing reads of animal samples as well as water contaminant data across multiple Great Lakes sites will allow others to explore the health of these ecosystems, in support of the aims of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Overall design: 116 total liver samples were RNA sequenced. 80 samples are from 7 different exposure sites, and the remainder 36 are from control sites. Fathead minnows were deployed at sites and exposed to water for 4 days. Following exposure, animals were removed, transferred to laboratory, and had livers removed from males and frozen at -80C until sequencing.