De novo transcriptome assembly for North American flying squirrels (genus Glaucomys)

RNA was extracted from tissue samples obtained from two northern flying squirrels and two southern flying squirrels sampled from Ontario, Canada, and sequenced on an Illumina paired-end sequencing platform. Introgressive hybridization between northern (Glaucomys sabrinus) and southern flying squirrels (G. volans) has been observed in some areas of North America. However, existing molecular markers lack the resolution to discriminate late-generation introgressants and describe the extent to which hybridization influences the Glaucomys gene pool. These genomic resources can increase the resolution of molecular techniques used to examine the dynamics of the Glaucomys hybrid zone.