RNA-seq Data Analysis for Differential Expression

Changes in the surrounding environment are mirrored by changes in the transcript profile of an organism. In the case of a plant pathogen, host colonization would be a challenge that triggers changes in transcript expression patterns. Determining the transcriptional profile could provide valuable clues on how an organism responds to defined stimuli, in this case, how a pathogen colonizes its host. Several robust data analysis methods and pipelines are available that can identify these differentially expressed transcripts. In this chapter we outline the steps and other caveats that are needed to run one such pipeline.