2.10 Transcriptome profiling of the Antechinus flavipesbreeding
To search for transcripts associated with obligate semelparity, we performed differential gene expression analysis of a single A. flavipes population (Samford Valley, Queensland, Australia) from August to October 2018. Every two days, we microscopically examined female urine for cornified, anuclear vaginal epithelial cells, a sign of peak oestrus (Selwood, 1980). Concurrent visual inspections of captured males for behavioural changes (e.g., agitation) revealed evidence of stress beginning in the last week of September, followed by progressive loss of body condition (Figure S3 ). The practical and ethical challenges of longitudinal sampling from a wild population limited the number of samples that could be obtained. In this study, we present transcriptomes of eight male and six female antechinuses [liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, cerebrum, and reproductive tissues (testis and ovary)]. See Supplemental Methods and Figure S4 for data processing and differential expression procedures, and File S2for normalised counts.