RNA-Seq of Rhizaria for phylogenomics and comparative transcriptomics

In this study, we investigated the functional and evolutionary diversity within Rhogostoma (Rhizaria), a group of parasite-related bacterivorous protists, and their eukaryvorous relatives. RNA-seq was performed on 14 monoclonal cultures, including Rhogostoma and Katarium polorum strains, as well as single-cell RNA-Seq on one Ebriida sp. strain. Sequencing was performed on an Illumina NovaSeq platform using 2x100 bp paired-end reads and polyA selection. Transcriptomes were de novo assembled for each strain for subsequent phylogenomic analyses and comparative transcriptomics, including assessment of gene expression patterns and metabolic pathway reconstruction.