Project description:We describe an application of deep sequencing and de novo assembly of short RNA reads to investigate small interfering (si)RNAs mediated immunity in leaf samples from eight tree taxa naturally occurring in Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire, UK. BLAST search for homologues of contigs in the GenBank identified siRNA populations against a number of RNA viruses and a Ty1-copia retrotransposons in these tree species. Small RNA sequencing and de novo assembly
Project description:We first report the use of next-generation massively parallel sequencing technologies and de novo transcriptome assembly to gain insight into the wide range of transcriptome of Hevea brasiliensis. The output of sequenced data showed that more than 12 million sequence reads with average length of 90nt were generated. Totally 48,768 unigenes (mean size = 488 bp) were assembled through transcriptome de novo assembly, which represent more than 3-fold of all the sequences of Hevea brasiliensis deposited in the GenBank. Assembled sequences were annotated with gene descriptions, gene ontology and clusters of orthologous group terms. Total 37,373 unigenes were successfully annotated and more than 10% of unigenes were aligned to known proteins of Euphorbiaceae. The unigenes contain nearly complete collection of known rubber-synthesis-related genes. Our data provides the most comprehensive sequence resource available for study rubber tree and demonstrates the availability of Illumina sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly in a species lacking genome information. The transcriptome of latex and leaf in Hevea brasiliensis
Project description:Here we investigate the function of CUC1(CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON1) in the diversification of leaf forms between simple-leaved Arabidopsis thaliana and compound-leaved Cardamine hirsuta. CUC transcription factors are conserved regulators in leaf margin dissection and leaflet formation. ChCUC1, ChCUC2 and ChCUC3 function redundantly and are required for the leaflet formation in C. hirsuta. Recently we discovered that ChCUC1 has species species-specific expression in young leaves of C.hirsuta. Moreover, interspecies gene transfer of ChCUC1 allele into A.thaliana is sufficient to increase leaf complexity. On this basis, we hypothesize that redeployment of ChCUC1 in leaves contributes to the formation of leaflets instead of serrations. However, the mechanism underlying ChCUC1 regulating cell division, cell polarity, cytoskeleton and thus leaf marginal patterning remains elusive. To this end, we make use of chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing(ChIP-seq), transcriptomic, comparative genetics and advanced imaging approaches to identify the downstream regulating genes of ChCUC1.