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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Sugarbeet and Potato Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #162864
Title: GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH DORMANCY BREAKAGE BY BROMOETHANE IN POTATO

Author
item CAMPBELL, MICHAEL - PENNYSYLVANIA STATE UNIV
item BEERS, LEE - PENNYSYLVANIA STATE UNIV
item Suttle, Jeffrey

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/5/2004
Publication Date: 7/15/2004
Citation: Campbell, M.A., Beers, L.A., Suttle, J.C. 2004. Gene expression changes associated with dormancy breakage by bromoethane in potato [abstract]. 2004 Anual Meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologist. p. 50. Abstract No. 37.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Dormancy in plants is a poorly understood process controlled by endogenous and exogenous factors. In order to elucidate the endogenous processes controlling plant dormancy we have established a procedure to examine global gene expression changes in potato meristems induced to exit the dormant state. Dormant potato tubers were harvested in the fall of 2002 and were stored until they exhibited a sprouting response and breakage of dormancy after treatment with bromoethane (BE). Following BE exposure tuber meristems exhibited a 3.8-fold increase in H3-thymidine uptake over a nine-day period while non-treated controls showed only slight increases after 5 days but dropped back to day one levels after nine days. Gene expression analysis was accomplished by using a TIGR microarray and comparing transcript changes between control meristems and meristems after one, four, and eight days of BE exposure. Over 500 ESTs demonstrated two-fold up-regulation after BE exposure and many of these encode for peptides associated with basic metabolism and cell division. ESTs showing a two-fold level of down regulation included the BURP genes, (BNM2 clone derived from Brassica napus; USPs and USP like proteins; RD22 from A. thaliana; and PG1beta from Lycopersicon esculentum). Current efforts are focused on repeating the microarray experiments using tubers harvested during the fall of 2003 to confirm gene expression changes associated with dormancy breakage by BE.