Transcriptomic adaptations to symbiotic life in cnidarians: symbiotic vs bleached Anemonia viridis sea anemones

Transcriptional comparison between symbiotic and non-symbiotic (bleached) sea anemones Anemonia viridis were analysed in several specimens. We generated an oligonucleotide microarray (2000 selected features), which is to date the only available oligonucleotide array for symbiotic cnidarians. We were able to identify a subset of genes clearly involved in symbiosis. Whole tentacle samples were prepared from 5 symbiotic and 5 bleached specimens. Hybridizations were performed against a single reference (VBl) in a dye-swap experiment.