Fig. 3
Validation of the RNA-seq expression profiles by RT-qPCR. To evaluate the validity of the Illumina sequencing results and confirm the observed patterns of expression, a subset of four differentially expressed genes among the most upregulated and downregulated genes between the stages was selected and evaluated by RT-qPCR analysis. The expression patterns indicate agreement between the two methods. Relative expression was evaluated between the developmental stages, and P0 was used as a calibrator. Asterisk, p < 0.05; X-axis, developmental stage comparisons (P0 vs P5, P0 vs P10, P5 vs P10); Y-axis, fold change (2-ΔΔCt values for RT-qPCR and fold change values for RNA-seq) in mRNA levels; bars, mean; error bars, standard deviation (SD)