title: RNASeq of Callogorgia americana delta collected in a nonseep area at site MC751
design: Total RNA was extracted following a modified Trizol/RNeasy Kit (Qiagen, Inc.) protocol to minimize contamination and improve yield from samples with limited tissue (Burge, Mouchka, Harvell, & Roberts, 2013; Polato, Vero, & Baums, 2011). Extraction concentrations were measured with a Nanodrop ND-1000, RNA quality and potential contamination was evaluated with gel electrophoresis through the presence of intact 28S and 18S ribosomal RNA bands, and an Aligent 2100 Bioanalyzer (Aligent Technologies) was used to check the RNA integrity and quantitation. Total RNA was sent for mRNA library preparation and high-throughput Illumina sequencing (HiSeq4000; 150 base pair (bp), paired-end reads) at Novogene, USA