Differential transcript accumulation in seedling and mature shoots identifies components contributing to corn earworm resistance
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ABSTRACT: As maize seedlings germinate into the soil, they encounter an environment teeming with insects seeking rich sources of nutrition. Maize presumably has developed a number of molecular mechanisms to ensure survival at the beginning of its life cycle. Bioassays indicated maize seedlings were more toxic to caterpillars than shoots from 3 or 4 leafed plants. Microarray technology was utilized to document the expression of a number of genes with potential defensive functions in seedling tissue. In addition to elevated levels of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of DIMBOA (2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one), an anti-insect resistance molecule, other highly expressed genes in the seedling encode the following putative proteins: defensin, hydroxyproline and proline-rich protein, thaumatin-like protein, lipase, cystatin, protease inhibitor, and a variety of proteases. Changes in the levels of gene expression by the microarray technology were well correlated to results using quantitative RT-PCR. The potential resistance genes identified occurred mainly on chromosomes 1 and 5 in the B73 genome. Analysis of promoters of four DIMBOA biosynthetic genes determined that a Dof transcription factor, two of which were differentially expressed in three vegetative stages, is possibly involved in regulation of the DIMBOA biosynthetic pathway. The results indicate that maize employs a wide variety of potential resistance mechanisms in seedling tissue to resist a possible insect attack. Three different Zea mays plant (B73) life stages were sampled: a) seedlings, which had grown just above the soil line, which also served as reference tissue (reference tissue was always labeled Cy5 and consisted of leaf shoots pooled from 12 plants); b) leaf shoots from plants with four leaves; and c) leaf shoots from plants with six leaves. There were 3 samples (biological replications) of each treatment (6 plants per sample) and the samples were labeled Cy3 and which were combined with a reference chip for a total of 9 chips: (3 biological replicates of seedling, 4 leaf stage and 6 leaf stage).
ORGANISM(S): Zea mays
SUBMITTER: Richard Musser
PROVIDER: E-GEOD-27709 | biostudies-arrayexpress |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress
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