The miR166-SlHB15A regulatory module controls ovule development and parthenocarpic fruit set under adverse temperatures in tomato.

Fruit set is inhibited by adverse temperatures, with consequences on yield. We isolated a tomato mutant producing fruits under non-permissive hot temperatures and identified the causal gene as SlHB15A, belonging to class III homeodomain leucine-zipper transcription factors. SlHB15A loss-of-function mutants display aberrant ovule development that mimics transcriptional changes occurring in fertilized ovules and leads to parthenocarpic fruit set under optimal and non-permissive temperatures, in field and greenhouse conditions.

Analysis of expressed sequence tags generated from full-length enriched cDNA libraries of melon.

Background: Melon (Cucumis melo), an economically important vegetable crop, belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family which includes several other important crops such as watermelon, cucumber, and pumpkin. It has served as a model system for sex determination and vascular biology studies. However, genomic resources currently available for melon are limited.

RNA captor: a tool for RNA characterization.

Background: In the genome era, characterizing the structure and the function of RNA molecules remains a major challenge. Alternative transcripts and non-protein-coding genes are poorly recognized by the current genome-annotation algorithms and efficient tools are needed to isolate the less-abundant or stable RNAs.

Results: A universal RNA-tagging method using the T4 RNA ligase 2 and special adapters is reported.

The grapevine genome sequence suggests ancestral hexaploidization in major angiosperm phyla.

The analysis of the first plant genomes provided unexpected evidence for genome duplication events in species that had previously been considered as true diploids on the basis of their genetics. These polyploidization events may have had important consequences in plant evolution, in particular for species radiation and adaptation and for the modulation of functional capacities. Here we report a high-quality draft of the genome sequence of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) obtained from a highly homozygous genotype.

Characterization of Arabidopsis thaliana mismatch specific endonucleases: application to mutation discovery by TILLING in pea.

Scanning DNA sequences for mutations and polymorphisms has become one of the most challenging, often expensive and time-consuming obstacles in many molecular genetic applications, including reverse genetic and clinical diagnostic applications. Enzymatic mutation detection methods are based on the cleavage of heteroduplex DNA at the mismatch sites. These methods are often limited by the availability of a mismatch-specific endonuclease, their sensitivity in detecting one allele in a pool of DNA and their costs.