Project description:Microarray analysis is a technique that can be employed to provide expression profiles of single genes and a new insight to elucidate the biological mechanisms responsible for fruit development. To evaluate expression of genes mostly engaged in fruit development between P. mume and P. armeniaca, we first identified differentially expressed transcripts along the entire fruit life cycle by using microarrays spotted with 10,641 ESTs collected from P. mume and other Prunus EST sequences. A total of 1,418 ESTs were selected after quality control of microarray spots and analyzed for differential gene expression patterns during fruit development of P. mume and P. armeniaca. Among them, 707 up-regulated and 711 down-regulated differentially expressed genes showing more than 2.0-fold differences in expression level were annotated by GO based on biological processes, molecular functions and cellular components. These differentially expressed genes were found to be involved in several important pathways of carbohydrate metabolism, galactose metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, and biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites via KEGG, which could provide detailed information on the fruit quality differences during development and ripening. With the obtained results, we provide a practical database for comprehensive understanding of molecular events during fruit development and also lay the theoretical foundation for the cloning of genes involved in a series of important rate-limiting enzymes in the vital metabolic pathways during the fruit development. Fruits from 4 cultivar at different stages, replicated 2 times
