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Title: GENE EXPRESSION PROFILES DURING COLD ACCLIMATION IN BLUEBERRY USING CDNA MICROARRAYS.

Author
item DHANARAJ, ANIK - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item ALKHAROUF, NADIM - TOWSON UNIVERSITY
item Beard, Hunter
item CHOUIKHA, IMED - GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
item Matthews, Benjamin
item WEI, HUI - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item ARORA, RAJEEV - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item Rowland, Lisa

Submitted to: National Academy of Sciences Sackler Symposium, From Functional Genomics of Model Organisms to Crop Plants for Global Health
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/18/2006
Publication Date: 4/4/2006
Citation: Dhanaraj, A.L., Alkharouf, N., Beard, H.S., Chouikha, I.B., Matthews, B.F., Wei, H., Arora, R., Rowland, L.J. 2006. Gene expression profiles during cold acclimation in blueberry using cdna microarrays.. Proceedings from "Functional Genomics of Model Organisms to Crop Plants for Global Health". April 3-5, 2006, Washington, D.C. p.39.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Environmental stresses, including low temperature extremes, reduce crop yields and impact the profitability and competitiveness of U.S. producers. The U.S. is the world’s leading blueberry (Vaccinium section Cyanococcus) producer. The blueberry industry in the U.S., however, suffers from a lack of winter hardy and spring-frost resistant cultivars. Our laboratory has been working toward increasing our understanding of the genetic control of cold hardiness in blueberry to ultimately use this information to develop more cold hardy cultivars. Here, we report using cDNA microarrays to monitor changes in gene expression at multiple times during cold acclimation under field and cold room conditions. Microarrays contained over 2500 cDNA inserts, approximately half of which had been picked and single-pass sequenced from each of two cDNA libraries that were constructed using RNA isolated from cold acclimated floral buds (collected in mid-winter) and non-acclimated floral buds (collected in fall) of the fairly cold hardy cv. Bluecrop (Vaccinium corymbosum L.). Two biological samples were examined at each time point. Microarray data was analyzed statistically using t-tests, ANOVA, clustering algorithms, and online analytical processing (OLAP). A large percentage of gene transcripts were found to be cold-responsive and, interestingly, more transcripts were found to be upregulated under cold room conditions than under field conditions. Many of the genes induced under cold room conditions that were not induced under field conditions could be divided into three major types, those that encode proteins associated with stress tolerance, those that encode glycolytic and TCA cycle enzymes, and those that encode protein synthesis machinery. A few of the genes induced under field conditions that were not induced under cold room conditions appear to be related to light stress. Therefore, although there are many similarities in how plants respond during cold acclimation in the cold room and in the field environment, there are also major differences suggesting caution should be taken in interpreting results based only on artificial, cold room conditions.