Comparative study of the expression profiles of the Cor/Lea gene family in two wheat cultivars with contrasting levels of freezing tolerance.

Expression profiles of a set of Cor/Lea genes were assessed during early stages of cold acclimation in seedlings of two wheat cultivars, which showed contrasting levels of freezing tolerance. These Cor/Lea family members consisted of three EST clones and 13 previously identified cDNA clones of wheat and rye. Northern blot analysis using RNA extracted from seedling leaves and roots showed that most of the genes exhibited a quite similar time-course of expression, although with different expression levels: They rapidly responded to low temperature and their transcript levels reached high plateaus within 3-5 days.