Transcriptome atlas ofPhalaenopsis equestris

The vast diversity of Orchidaceae together with sophisticated adaptations to pollinators and other unique features make this family an attractive model for evolutionary and functional studies. The sequenced genome ofPhalaenopsis equestrisfacilitates Orchidaceae research. Here we present an RNA-seq based transcriptome map ofP. equestriswhich covers 19 organs of the plant including leaves, roots, floral organs and shoot apical meristem. We demonstrated the high quality of the data and showed the similarity ofP. equestristranscriptome map with gene expression atlases of other plants. The transcriptome map can be easily accessed through our database Transcriptome Variation Analysis (TraVA) visualizing gene expression profiles. As an example of the application we analyzed the expression ofPhalaenopsis“orphan” genes – the ones that do not have recognizable similarity with genes of other plants. We found that about a half of them are not expressed; the ones that are expressed have a predominant expression pattern in reproductive structures.