a-k Heatmap of A. alata medusa samples. Hierarchical clustering (EdgeR) and corresponding ten subcluster profiles for the 2916 genes differentially expressed across A. alata medusa samples (gastric cirri, ovaries, tentacle (with pedalium base), rhopalium) (of the identified ~20 K Trinity genes. Intensity of color indicates expression levels for each of the ten hierarchical clusters (vertical access). Bright yellow patches correspond to the highest peaks for each k-mean subcluster profile. K-mean profiles (b-k) match the order of column names in a, representing the mean expression of gene clusters highly abundant in each sample (centroid demarcated by the solid line; zero indicated by the horizontal dashed red line). Three bright yellow transcript clusters in the gastric cirri column correspond to each of the peaks seen in plots b, c and d in the ovaries column correspond to plots e, f, g and in the tentacle column correspond to h, i, j, while the two bright yellow clusters in the rhopalium column correspond to peaks in plots k, and to the less prominent peaks in plots g and h. The vertical colored bar on the left of the heatmap (a) indicates distinct patterns corresponding to the ten subcluster profiles (sc = subcluster number), for which the number of genes each comprises is indicated. Abbreviations: gc = gastric cirri, ov = ovaries, tnt = tentacle (and pedalium base), rhp = rhopalium, and pln = planulae. (Original matrix in Additional file 5)