RNA sequencing data for gamma radiation response in the extremotolerant tardigrade Ramazzottius varieornatus

Tardigrades are microscopic animals of which terrestrial species capable tolerating extreme environments by entering a desiccated ametabolic state known as anhydrobiosis. Intriguingly, they survive high dosage gamma rays (>4,000 Gy), possibly through mechanism cross-tolerance. We hypothesized that anhydrobiosis genes also regulated during cross-tolerance, thus we submitted Ramazzottius varieornatus to 500 Gy 60 Co gamma-ray and conducted time-course low-input RNA-Seq. The gene expression was quantified with RSEM differential determined DEseq2. Differentially expressed were ontology enrichment analysis GOStat. transcriptome dynamically shifted nine hours post-exposure.