Project description:We hypothesize that microarray-based analysis of Lycopersicon esculentum is a sensitive tool for the early detection of potential toxicity of heavy metals, as well as an effective tool for identifying the heavy metal-specific genes. To test the hypothesis, the Agilent whole-genome cDNA microarrays were used to assess the effects of heavy metal on L. esculentum at relatively low concentrations (1/10 LC50 of heavy metals). Results showed that the characteristic gene expression profiles induced by Cd, Cr, Hg and Pb were not only distinct from the control but also distinct from one another, demonstrating the feasibility of discriminating between the effects of these four heavy metals present at relatively low concentrations. Moreover, heavy metal-specific genes were identified by microarray analysis. These findings support the above hypothesis. A total of fifteen microarrays (4*44K tomato gene expression microarray; G2519F-022270) were used to hybridize with RNA extracted from Cd-, Cr-, Hg-, Pb-treated and the untreated roots (control) of Lycopersicon esculentum. Each treatment was carried out for three replicates. A total of thirty seedlings were used for each treatment. Root samples from ten seedlings randomly selected from each Petri dish were pooled together to obtain three biological replicates.
Project description:We hypothesize that microarray-based analysis of Lycopersicon esculentum is a sensitive tool for the early detection of potential toxicity of heavy metals, as well as an effective tool for identifying the heavy metal-specific genes. To test the hypothesis, the Agilent whole-genome cDNA microarrays were used to assess the effects of heavy metal on L. esculentum at relatively low concentrations (1/10 LC50 of heavy metals). Results showed that the characteristic gene expression profiles induced by Cd, Cr, Hg and Pb were not only distinct from the control but also distinct from one another, demonstrating the feasibility of discriminating between the effects of these four heavy metals present at relatively low concentrations. Moreover, heavy metal-specific genes were identified by microarray analysis. These findings support the above hypothesis.
