Complementation of the tomato gene with its Arabidopsis counterpart demonstrates conservation of the gene function between both species.

The () gene was originally described in Arabidopsis for the characteristic fusion of sepals in the mutant. A tomato line mutated in the putative ortholog gene was isolated in a previous study. The tomato mutant showed facultative parthenocarpy and produced fruits with elevated Brix, revealing the gene as a hopeful resource for crop improvement.

Rapid turnover of antimicrobial-type cysteine-rich protein genes in closely related Oryza genomes.

Defensive and reproductive protein genes undergo rapid evolution. Small, cysteine-rich secreted peptides (CRPs) act as antimicrobial agents and function in plant intercellular signaling and are over-represented among reproductively expressed proteins. Because of their roles in defense, reproduction and development and their presence in multigene families, CRP variation can have major consequences for plant phenotypic and functional diversification.

Rice expression atlas in reproductive development.

Gene expression throughout the reproductive process in rice (Oryza sativa) beginning with primordia development through pollination/fertilization to zygote formation was analyzed. We analyzed 25 stages/organs of rice reproductive development including early microsporogenesis stages with 57,381 probe sets, and identified around 26,000 expressed probe sets in each stage. Fine dissection of 25 reproductive stages/organs combined with detailed microarray profiling revealed dramatic, coordinated and finely tuned changes in gene expression.

Development of a novel data mining tool to find cis-elements in rice gene promoter regions.

Background: Information on more than 35 000 full-length Oryza sativa cDNAs, together with associated microarray gene expression data collected under various treatment conditions, has made it feasible to identify motifs that are conserved in gene promoters and may act as cis-regulatory elements with key roles under the various conditions.

Results: We have developed a novel tool that searches for cis-element candidates in the upstream, downstream, or coding regions of differentially regulated genes. The tool first lists cis-element candidates by motif searching based on the supposition that if there are cis-elements playing important roles in the regulation of a given set of genes, they will be statistically overrepresented and will be conserved.

Comparative molecular biological analysis of membrane transport genes in organisms.

Comparative analyses of membrane transport genes revealed many differences in the features of transport homeostasis in eight diverse organisms, ranging from bacteria to animals and plants. In bacteria, membrane-transport systems depend mainly on single genes encoding proteins involved in an ATP-dependent pump and secondary transport proteins that use H(+) as a co-transport molecule. Animals are especially divergent in their channel genes, and plants have larger numbers of P-type ATPase and secondary active transporters than do other organisms.

Combining in silico mapping and arraying: an approach to identifying common candidate genes for submergence tolerance and resistance to bacterial leaf blight in rice.

Several genes/QTLs governing resistance/tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses have been reported and mapped in rice. A QTL for submergence tolerance was found to be co-located with a major QTL for broad-spectrum bacterial leaf blight (bs-blb) resistance on the long arm of chromosome 5 in indica cultivars FR13A and IET8585. Using the Nipponbare (japonica) and 93-11 (indica) genome sequences, we identified, in silico, candidate genes in the chromosomal region [Kottapalli et al.

Gene organization in rice revealed by full-length cDNA mapping and gene expression analysis through microarray.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a model organism for the functional genomics of monocotyledonous plants since the genome size is considerably smaller than those of other monocotyledonous plants. Although highly accurate genome sequences of indica and japonica rice are available, additional resources such as full-length complementary DNA (FL-cDNA) sequences are also indispensable for comprehensive analyses of gene structure and function.

Microarray analysis of genes that respond to gamma-irradiation in Arabidopsis.

To reveal the signal transduction mechanism of the response to stress in the form of active oxygen species, we used a microarray system to analyze gene expression patterns 2 or 24 h after gamma-irradiation of Arabidopsis. gamma-Irradiation induces several signal transduction and metabolite genes. By analysis of cis-elements located on the promoter region of the gamma-responsive genes, we have also found several cis-elements related to various signal transduction systems.

Radial expansion of root cells and elongation of root hairs of Arabidopsis thaliana induced by massive doses of gamma irradiation.

Radial expansion of root cells and elongation of root hairs were induced within 3 d of a massive dose (3 kGy) of gamma irradiation to Arabidopsis thaliana. Because treatment with the antioxidant n-propyl gallate before irradiation suppressed these changes, gamma irradiation partially rescued the rhd2 mutant (defective in NADPH oxidase); the superoxide-generating reagent paraquat induced similar root morphogenesis. These responses appeared to be induced by the active oxygen species (AOS) generated by water radiolysis.

Comparative analysis of plant and animal calcium signal transduction element using plant full-length cDNA data.

We obtained 32K full-length cDNA sequence data from the rice full-length cDNA project and performed a homology search against NCBI GenBank data. We have also searched homologs of Arabidopsis and other plants' genes with the databases. Comparative analysis of calcium ion transport proteins revealed that the genes specific for muscle and nerve calcium signal transduction systems (VDCC, IP3 receptor, ryanodine receptor) are very different in animals and plants.

Comprehensive analysis of NAC family genes in Oryza sativa and Arabidopsis thaliana.

The NAC domain was originally characterized from consensus sequences from petunia NAM and from Arabidopsis ATAF1, ATAF2, and CUC2. Genes containing the NAC domain (NAC family genes) are plant-specific transcriptional regulators and are expressed in various developmental stages and tissues. We performed a comprehensive analysis of NAC family genes in Oryza sativa (a monocot) and Arabidopsis thaliana (a dicot).

Collection, mapping, and annotation of over 28,000 cDNA clones from japonica rice.

We collected and completely sequenced 28,469 full-length complementary DNA clones from Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica cv.

Levels of active oxygen species are controlled by ascorbic acid and anthocyanin in Arabidopsis.

Stabilization of the levels of active oxygen species (AOS) is important to the survival of organisms. To clarify the system controlling levels of AOS in plants, this study used an electron spin resonance (ESR) method to directly measure superoxide radical (O(2)(.-)) scavenging activities in the wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana (Col and Ler ecotypes), two anthocyanin mutants (tt3 and ttg1), and an ascorbic acid mutant (vtc1).