De novo RNA-Seq analysis of the venus clam, Cyclina sinensis, and the identification of immune-related genes

The Venus clam, Cyclina sinensis, is one of the most important bivalves in China. In recent years, increasing expansive morbidity has occurred in breeding areas, imposing significant losses on the national economy. To understand the molecular mechanisms of immune-related genes, we analyzed and sequenced hemolymph samples that were injected with two pathogenic microorganisms using the Illumina Miseq system. After trimming, more than 12 M PE reads with an average length greater than 410 bp were assembled into 70,079 transcripts with a mean length of 980 bp. Using a homology analysis, 102 (135 transcripts) potentially immune-related genes were identified, and most of them exhibited a similar pattern in both samples. These data indicated that the response of the clam to both types of bacterial infection might follow a similar molecular mechanism. Using the TreeFam method, 9,904 gene families and 1,031 unique families of the clam were preliminarily classified in comparison to five related species. A significant number of SSRs were identified, which could facilitate the identification of polymorphisms in Venus clam populations. These datasets will improve our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms driving the immune response to bacterial infection in clam populations and will provide basic data about clam breeding and disease control.