Whole eye transcriptome generated in Abca4-/-Rdh8-/- mice to identify changes in gene expression after light exposure

RNA-Seq has revolutionized transcriptome profiling with precise identification of even low expressing and novel transcripts. Goal of the current study was to identify novel gene signatures/biological pathways which are expressed in the early stage after light exposure in our disease model to identify transcriptional mis-regulation followed by validation using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) methods Whole eye mRNA profiles of 6 week old Abca4-/-Rdh8-/- mice were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina HiSeq2500. The sequence reads that passed quality filters were analyzed by TopHat followed by Cufflinks. Cuffdiff was used for differential gene analysis. qRT–PCR validation was performed using SYBR Green assays