Comparative analysis of 87,000 expressed sequence tags from the fumonisin-producing fungus Fusarium verticillioides.

Fusarium verticillioides (teleomorph Gibberella moniliformis) is a pathogen of maize worldwide and produces fumonisins, a family of mycotoxins that have been associated with several animal diseases as well as cancer in humans. In this study, we sought to identify fungal genes that affect fumonisin production and/or the plant-fungal interaction. We generated over 87,000 expressed sequence tags from nine different cDNA libraries that correspond to 11,119 unique sequences and are estimated to represent 80% of the genomic complement of genes.

Aspergillus flavus expressed sequence tags for identification of genes with putative roles in aflatoxin contamination of crops.

Aflatoxins, produced primarily by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, are among the most toxic and carcinogenic naturally occurring compounds. In an attempt to identify genes potentially involved in aflatoxin contamination of crops, and to better understand the biology of A.

Cloning and sequencing of cDNAs for hypothetical genes from chromosome 2 of Arabidopsis.

About 25% of the genes in the fully sequenced and annotated Arabidopsis genome have structures that are predicted solely by computer algorithms with no support from either nucleic acid or protein homologs from other species or expressed sequence matches from Arabidopsis. These are referred to as "hypothetical genes." On chromosome 2, sequenced by The Institute for Genomic Research, there are approximately 800 hypothetical genes among a total of approximately 4,100 genes.

Functional analysis of regulatory elements in the gene promoter for an abscission-specific cellulase from bean and isolation, expression, and binding affinity of three TGA-type basic leucine zipper transcription factors.

Site-directed mutagenesis was used to identify cis-acting elements that control hormonal and abscission-specific expression of the bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) abscission cellulase (BAC) promoter. Auxin inhibition of BAC promoter expression is at least in part controlled by a negatively regulated element and ethylene induction by a positively regulated element. One of a series of 15 different 10-bp mutations created in a 2.

Differential display: analysis of gene expression during plant cell separation processes.

An essential component in the study of cell growth and development in any organism is the analysis of differential gene expression. There are numerous techniques available for comparison of two or more systems at the molecular level, including subtractive hybridization, reverse transcriptase (RT), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), differential screening of cDNA libraries, and, more recently, cDNA microarrays. Differential display has advantages in that it is relatively less time-consuming and can result in the identification of rare cDNA, which may be missed by conventional cDNA library screening.

Delayed abscission and shorter Internodes correlate with a reduction in the ethylene receptor LeETR1 transcript in transgenic tomato.

Stable transformation of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv Ailsa Craig) plants with a construct containing the antisense sequence for the receiver domain and 3'-untranslated portion of the tomato ethylene receptor (LeETR1) under the control of an enhanced cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter resulted in some expected and unexpected phenotypes. In addition to reduced LeETR1 transcript levels, the two most consistently observed phenotypes in the transgenic lines were delayed abscission and reduced plant size. Fruit coloration and softening were essentially unaffected, and all the seedlings from first generation seed displayed a normal triple response to ethylene.

Temporal and spatial expression of a polygalacturonase during leaf and flower abscission in oilseed rape and Arabidopsis.

During leaf abscission in oilseed rape (Brassica napus), cell wall degradation is brought about by the action of several hydrolytic enzymes. One of these is thought to be polygalacturonase (PG). Degenerate primers were used to isolate a PG cDNA fragment by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction from RNA extracted from ethylene-promoted leaf abscission zones (AZs), and in turn a full-length clone (CAW471) from an oilseed rape AZ cDNA library.