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Title: ARABIDOPSIS MICROARRAYS IDENTIFY CONSERVED AND DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED GENES INVOLVED IN SHOOT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT FROM DISTANTLY RELATED PLANT SPECIES

Author
item Horvath, David
item SCHAFFER, ROBERT - HORT RESEARCH
item West, Mark
item WISMAN, ELLEN - MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Plant Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/7/2003
Publication Date: 4/1/2003
Citation: Horvath, D.P., Schaffer, R., West, M., Wisman, E. 2003. Arabidopsis microarrays identify conserved and differentially expressed genes involved in shoot growth and development from distantly related plant species. Plant Journal. 34:125-134.

Interpretive Summary: Microarrays technology is a powerful tool for studying gene expression in many organisms. However, because microarrays require the sequencing of thousands of genes, this technology has been limited to organisms that have already been well characterized. Based on the presumption that most plant genes are relatively similar in sequence between species, we have used microarrays made from cDNA clones of Arabidopsis and probed them with material collected from leafy spurge poplar and wild oat. We have found that we can accurately follow the expression of more than 2000 of the 11,000 genes on the Arabidopsis array in even the most distantly related organism (wild oat). The expression analysis from these organisms indicated that the microarrays could accurately reflect the physiological status of the tissues tested. Also, these experiments have provided insight into the evolution and function of many genes.

Technical Abstract: EST-based microarrays are powerful tools for gene discovery and signal transduction studies in a small number of well-characterized species. We have probed 11,000 element Arabidopsis microarrays with labeled cDNAs from mature leaf vs. shoot apices from several different species to explore the usefulness of this technique for poorly- characterized species. Expression of 23 to 47% of the genes on the array was detected, demonstrating that a large number of genes of distantly related species can be surveyed on Arabidopsis arrays. Differential expression of genes with known functions was indicative of the physiological state of the tissues tested.