Correlated clustering and virtual display of gene expression patterns in the wheat life cycle by large-scale statistical analyses of expressed sequence tags

Compared to rice, wheat exhibits characteristic growth habits and contains complex genome constituents. To assess global changes in gene expression patterns in the wheat life cycle, we conducted large-scale analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) in common wheat. Ten wheat tissues were used to construct cDNA libraries: crown and root from 14-day-old seedlings; spikelet from early and late flowering stages; spike at the booting stage, heading date and flowering date; pistil at the heading date; and seeds at 10 and 30 days post-anthesis. Several thousand colonies were randomly selected from each of these 10 cDNA libraries and sequenced from both 5' and 3' ends. Consequently, a total of 116 232 sequences were accumulated and classified into 25 971 contigs based on sequence homology. By computing abundantly expressed ESTs, correlated expression patterns of genes across the tissues were identified. Furthermore, relationships of gene expression profiles among the 10 wheat tissues were inferred from global gene expression patterns. Genes with similar functions were grouped with one another by clustering gene expression profiles. This technique might enable estimation of the functions of anonymous genes. Multidimensional analysis of EST data that is analogous to the microarray experiments may offer new approaches to functional genomics of plants.     

Comparative expression profiles of maize genes from a water stress-specific cDNA macroarray in response to high-salinity, cold or abscisic acid

cDNA macroarray has become a useful tool to analyze expression profiles and compare the similarities and differences of various expression patterns. We have prepared a cDNA macroarray containing 190 maize expressed sequence tags (ESTs) specifically induced by water stress to analyze the expression profiles of maize seedlings under abscisic acid (ABA) treatment, high-salinity and cold stress conditions. The results indicated that 48 ESTs in leaves and 111 ESTs in roots were significantly up-regulated by ABA treatment, 36 ESTs in leaves and 41 ESTs in roots by high-salinity stress, 14 ESTs in leaves and 18 ESTs in roots by cold induction, whereas 22 ESTs were induced under all 3 stresses. Results from the hierarchical cluster analysis suggest that the leaves and roots of maize seedlings had different expression profiles after these stresses. The overlap analysis of different stress-induced ESTs indicated that there is more crosstalk between water stress and ABA and high-salinity stress than between water stress and cold stress. It will be helpful to study the precise function of the corresponding overlapping-induced genes for understanding the relationship and crosstalk between different stress signal pathways.     

In silico studies of energy metabolism of normal and diseased heart

Biotechnology research is developing into genomic analyses that involve the simultaneous monitoring of thousands of genes. The development of various bioinformatics resources that provide efficient access to information is necessary. We have used single-pass sequencing of randomly selected cDNA clones to generate expressed sequence tags (ESTs). These ESTs data has been widely used to study gene expression in a variety of heart libraries [1, 21]. Data annotation on our recent finding allows us to construct the profiles of genes in the energy metabolizing pathways (glycolysis and glycogen metabolism) that are expressed in heart cDNA libraries. In silico studies of genes of energy metabolism yields data that are consistent with results derived from conventional metabolic experiments. The change in gene profiles describing the metabolism of diseased hearts is also presented here.     

Use of a large-scale Triticeae expressed sequence tag resource to reveal gene expression profiles in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

The US Wheat Genome Project, funded by the National Science Foundation, developed the first large public Triticeae expressed sequence tag (EST) resource. Altogether, 116,272 ESTs were produced, comprising 100,674 5' ESTs and 15 598 3' ESTs. These ESTs were derived from 42 cDNA libraries, which were created from hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and its close relatives, including diploid wheat (T. monococcum L. and Aegilops speltoides L.), tetraploid wheat (T. turgidum L.), and rye (Secale cereale L.), using tissues collected from various stages of plant growth and development and under diverse regimes of abiotic and biotic stress treatments. ESTs were assembled into 18,876 contigs and 23,034 singletons, or 41,910 wheat unigenes. Over 90% of the contigs contained fewer than 10 EST members, implying that the ESTs represented a diverse selection of genes and that genes expressed at low and moderate to high levels were well sampled. Statistical methods were used to study the correlation of gene expression patterns, based on the ESTs clustered in the 1536 contigs that contained at least 10 5' EST members and thus representing the most abundant genes expressed in wheat. Analysis further identified genes in wheat that were significantly upregulated (p < 0.05) in tissues under various abiotic stresses when compared with control tissues. Though the function annotation cannot be assigned for many of these genes, it is likely that they play a role associated with the stress response. This study predicted the possible functionality for 4% of total wheat unigenes, which leaves the remaining 96% with their functional roles and expression patterns largely unknown. Nonetheless, the EST data generated in this project provide a diverse and rich source for gene discovery in wheat.     

Identification and characterization of high temperature stress responsive genes in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and their regulation at various stages of development

To elucidate the effect of high temperature, wheat plants (Triticum aestivum cv. CPAN 1676) were given heat shock at 37 and 42°C for 2 h, and responsive genes were identified through PCR-Select Subtraction technology. Four subtractive cDNA libraries, including three forward and one reverse subtraction, were constructed from three different developmental stages. A total of 5,500 ESTs were generated and 3,516 high quality ESTs submitted to Genbank. More than one-third of the ESTs generated fall in unknown/no hit category upon homology search through BLAST analysis. Differential expression was confirmed by cDNA macroarray and by northern/RT-PCR analysis. Expression analysis of wheat plants subjected to high temperature stress, after 1 and 4 days of recovery, showed fast recovery in seedling tissue. However, even after 4 days, recovery was negligible in the developing seed tissue after 2 h of heat stress. Ten selected genes were analyzed in further detail including one unknown protein and a new heat shock factor, by quantitative real-time PCR in an array of 35 different wheat tissues representing major developmental stages as well as different abiotic stresses. Tissue specificity was examined along with cross talk with other abiotic stresses and putative signalling molecules.     

Nylon Filter Arrays Reveal Differential Expression of Expressed Sequence Tags in Wheat Roots Under Aluminum Stress

To enrich differentially expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for aluminum (Al) tolerance, cDNA subtraction libraries were generated from Al-stressed roots of two wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) nearisogenic lines (NILs) contrasting in Al-tolerance gene(s) from the Al-tolerant cultivar Atlas 66, using suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH). Expression patterns of the ESTs were investigated with nylon filter arrays containing 614 cDNA clones from the subtraction library. Gene expression profiles from macroarray analysis indicated that 25 ESTs were upregulated in the tolerant NIL in response to Al stress. The result from Northern analysis of selected upregulated ESTs was similar to that from macroarray analysis. These highly expressed ESTs showed high homology with genes involved in signal transduction, oxidative stress alleviation, membrane structure, Mg2 transportation, and other functions. Under Al stress, the Al-tolerant NIL may possess altered structure or function of the cell wall, plasma membrane, and mitochondrion. The wheat response to Al stress may involve complicated defense-related signaling and metabolic pathways.The present experiment did not detect any induced or activated genes involved in the synthesis of malate and other organic acids in wheat under Al-stress.     

Cloning and characterization of chitin synthase gene fragments from Penicillium chrysogenum

Abstract We constructed a 3'-directed cDNA library of cleistothecia and Hülle cells of Aspergillus nidulans to examine gene expression patterns of the sexual structures and to have probes necessary to isolate sexual structure-specific genes. Sequencing of 360 randomly selected cDNA clones yielded 272 expressed sequence tags (ESTs), most of which probably represent frequently or less expressed genes in sexual structures of A. nidulans . Among the 272 ESTs, 33 ESTs (87 cDNA clones) appeared more than once and 2 ESTs appeared 6 times; 9 ESTs matched GenBank entries. When compared with sequences obtained from a mycelial 3'-directed cDNA library of A. nidulans , 28 out of 33 ESTs seem to be sexual structure-specific. Northern blot analyses of 20 ESTs showed that 17 are sexual structure-specific. The remaining three ESTs also hybridized with RNA isolated from vegetative mycelia. These results suggest that analyses of ESTs from different cell types or tissues can readily demonstrate gene expression patterns of specific cell types and identify cell type-specific cDNA probes.     

Nylon Filter Arrays Reveal Differential Expression of Expressed Sequence Tags in Wheat Roots Under Aluminum Stress

To enrich differentially expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for aluminum (A1) tolerance, cDNA subtraction libraries were generated from Al-stressed roots of two wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) nearisogenic lines (NILs) contrasting in Al-tolerance gene(s) from the Al-tolerant cultivar Atlas 66, using suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH). Expression patterns of the ESTs were investigated with nylon filter arrays containing 614 cDNA clones from the subtraction library. Gene expression profiles from macroarray analysis indicated that 25 ESTs were upregulated in the tolerant NIL in response to A1 stress. The result from Northern analysis of selected upregulated ESTs was similar to that from macroarray analysis. These highly expressed ESTs showed high homology with genes involved in signal transduction, oxidative stress alleviation, membrane structure, Mg^2 transportation, and other functions. Under A1 stress, the Al-tolerant NIL may possess altered structure or function of the cell wall, plasma membrane, and mitochondrion. The wheat response to A1 stress may involve complicated defense-related signaling and metabolic pathways. The present experiment did not detect any induced or activated genes involved in the synthesis of malate and other organic acids in wheat under Al-stress.     

猪脂肪及肌肉组织中基因表达信息分析

为探测猪脂肪及肌肉组织中基因表达概况,利用猪EST资源和人类基因序列开展计算机模拟研究,旨在为猪肉质改良的遗传基础分析提供候选信息。执行Blast比对程序以识别人类基因组基因与猪EST序列间的同源性并筛选出高度同源记录,同时编制4个Java程序进行序列检索收集、序列比对结果的过滤筛选以及分类处理。统计分析表明：至少有2002个基因在猪脂肪及肌肉组织中表达,其中1087个基因在脂肪组织表达,1205个基因在肌肉组织中表达,两组织共同表达的基因为290个;筛选出高同源基因,同时分类统计出了114个基础活性基因(脂肪和肌肉组织分别表达80和34个),并选取Top记录进行了描述分析和总结。     

cDNA(EST)文库的高通量生物信息学分析体系的构建与应用

应用生物信息学方法,构建了一套针对cDNA或EST文库的高通量、自动化分析体系,CLASP(cDNA Library Analysis SystemPrimary)。CLASP基于Linux操作系统,主要由Perl程序构成。它以cDNA文库(ESTs)序列为分析对象,具有自动查找序列同源基因并进行染色体定位(包括细胞遗传学定位和SIS定位)、EST自动延伸等功能;并对不同来源序列进行聚类分析。应用该体系对3对肺癌相关抑制性消减杂交(SSH)cDNA文库进行了分析。结果在所有3对文库的2083条EST中有1492条找到了同源基因,其中1365条得到染色体定位。对所余591条未知基因的EST进行了电子延伸,其中有214条EST得到不同程度的延伸。对上述cDNA文库中已知基因的EST以及电子延伸后的EST再分别进行聚类分析,而后综合两个聚类分析的结果,由此可发现不同文库间的共同与差异表达基因,可用于特定性状相关的基因功能预测。     

Expressed sequence tags and mRNA expression levels of tagged cDNAs from watermelon anthers and developing seeds

To understand the molecular events that occur during reproductive organ development and to provide genetic resources for molecular breeding, we generated 328 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from randomly selected clones of four watermelon cDNA libraries. These libraries were prepared from young and mature anthers, as well as the seed coat and inner seed tissues. EST clones found in the young anthers and inner seed tissues showed similarity with genes related to development and signal transduction. We could deduce that, especially in the developing inner seed tissues, important morphological processes were associated exclusively with seed and embryo development In addition, seed metabolism was tailored toward the accumulation of economically valuable storage compounds such as lipids. In the seed coat, EST clones showed similarity with genes that influence the transport or conversion of nutrients such as porin, sucrose synthase, L-asparaginase, and arginine decarboxylase. We also selected two cDNA clones from each of the four classes of ESTs for studying expression levels and patterns in the various organs. Among those eight clones, three (An88, Is124, and Sc68) were expressed preferentially in their particular organ.     

Genes expressed in sugarcane maturing internodal tissue

To explore gene expression during sugarcane culm maturation, we performed a partial sequence analysis of random clones from maturing culm total and subtracted cDNA libraries. Database comparisons revealed that of the 337 cDNA sequences analysed, 167 showed sequence homology to gene products in the protein databases, while 111 matched uncharacterised plant expressed sequence tags (ESTs) only. The remaining cDNAs showed no database match and could represent novel genes. The majority of ESTs corresponded to a variety of genes associated with general cellular metabolism. ESTs homologous to various stress response genes were also well represented. Analysis of ESTs from the subtracted library identified genes that may be preferentially expressed during culm maturation. This research has provided a framework for functional gene analysis in sugarcane sucrose-accumulating tissues.