Gene discovery in the tropical scallop Nodipecten nodosus: Construction and sequencing of a normalized cDNA library

• A low-redundancy cDNA library was generated for the tropical scallop Nodipecten nodosus.
• About 250 unique EST were catalogued and sequences were functionally annotated.
• Genes related to apoptosis, growth, lipid metabolism, reproduction, development, response to stress and immunity were revealed.

We report the construction and characterization of a normalized cDNA library from the digestive gland of the marine bivalve Nodipecten nodosus, a commercially valuable tropical scallop. A total of 288 clones were sequenced, and 250 unique sequences were obtained. The cDNA library showed a small sequence redundancy (2.3%) and high numbers of recombinant (99.9%) and independent clones (2.0 × 106 cfu), indicating that the cDNA library generated in this study is a profitable resource for efficient gene discovery for N. nodosus. EST functional annotation by Gene Ontology term assignment revealed the identification of sequences potentially involved in aquaculture and ecotoxicology relevant processes such as apoptosis, growth, lipid metabolism, reproduction, development, response to stress and immunity.