Small RNA-seq of the Japanese subterranean termite Reticulitermes speratus

We collected tissue samples for the small RNA-seq analysis from worker and soldier termite castes. We used pooled samples consisting of four individuals (two females and two males). Total RNA was extracted from the tissue samples using QIAzol reagent (Qiagen) and isolated by using the miRNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen). The sequencing libraries were constructed using TruSeq small RNA Sample Preparation Kit (Illumina). Single-end sequencing of the 100-bp end of cDNA was performed with a Hiseq2000 sequencing system (Illumina). All six of the constructed libraries were sequenced on a single lane.