RNAseq of embryonic appendages in the tarantula Aphonopelma hentzi

Embryonic appendages and some associated body wall tissue were dissected from developing Texas brown tarantula (A. hentzi) embryos at three stages of development salient to appendicular development (and by extension the development of the posterior body region). Dissected appendages were sequenced using either the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 or HiSeq 2500 platform to produce stage and tissue specific transcriptomes. Each appendage type at each stage is represented by three biological replicates. Each replicate contains appendages from multiple individuals from the same clutch (n = 3 to 7 samples per appendage type). Differential gene expression analysis was applied as all-by-all and pair-wise comparisons within each stage to identify genes enriched in either the anterior or posterior appendage types (and associated body segment) toward identification of genes involved in patterning the posterior region of the developing spider.