Data on four apoptosis-related genes in the colonial tunicate Botryllus schlosseri

The data described are related to the article entitled “Recurrent phagocytosis-induced apoptosis in the cyclical generation change of the compound ascidian Botryllus schlosseri” (Franchi et al., 2016) [1]. Four apoptosis-related genes, showing high similarity with mammalian Bax (a member of the Bcl-2 protein family), AIF1 (apoptosis-inducing factor-1), PARP1 (poly ADP ribose polymerase-1) and IAP7 (inhibitor of apoptosis-7) were identified from the analysis of the trascriptome of B. schlosseri. They were named BsBax, BsAIF1, BsPARP1 and BsIAP7. Here, their deduced amino acid sequence were compared with known sequences of orthologous genes from other deuterostome species together with a study of their identity/similarity.