Transcriptomic response of Nematostella vectensis to synthetic viral mimics

This study was aimed to characterize the antiviral immune response in Nematostella vectensis, a model organism of phylum Cnidaria (sea anemones, corals, jellyfish and hydroids). To stimulate the antiviral immune response in Nematostella, we used two types of synthetic dsRNA - HWM poly(IC) and isotonic saline solution as a control and a synthetic dsRNA 19mer with a triphosphate group (5-ppp-dsRNA) and a control dsRNA 19mer with a hydroxyl group (5-ppp-dsRNA-control) (suspended in RNAse-free water0. Each experiment was performed in triplicates and each biological replicate was composed of 100-150 injected zygotes per time point. Within each biological replicate zygotes were collected at 6, 24 and 48 hours post-injection. RNA-seq libraries were generated using SENSE Total RNA-seq Library Prep Kit v2 and sequenced on NextSeq 500 using single-end 75 bp chemistry.