RNA was isolated using the Direct-zol™ RNA Miniprep Kit (Zymo, R2052). 1.0 ug of total RNA was used for the construction of sequencing libraries. RNA-seq is a standard protocol widely utilized in our laboratory at Emory. RNA-seq libraries were generated using the NEB Next Ultra II Directional with Poly A Selection Kit. A qPCR-based KAPA library quantification kit was applied to accurately quantify library concentration.