A microarray-based method for the parallel analysis of genotypes and expression profiles of wood-forming tissues in <it>Eucalyptus grandis</it>
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fast-growing <it>Eucalyptus grandis </it>trees are one of the most efficient producers of wood in South Africa. The most serious problem affecting the quality and yield of solid wood products is the occurrence of end spli...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2009-05-01
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| Series: | BMC Biotechnology |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6750/9/51 |
| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fast-growing <it>Eucalyptus grandis </it>trees are one of the most efficient producers of wood in South Africa. The most serious problem affecting the quality and yield of solid wood products is the occurrence of end splitting in logs. Selection of <it>E. grandis </it>planting stock that exhibit preferred wood qualities is thus a priority of the South African forestry industry. We used microarray-based DNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis in combination with expression profiling to develop fingerprints and profile gene expression of wood-forming tissue of seven different <it>E. grandis </it>trees.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A 1578-probe cDNA microarray was constructed by arraying 768 cDNA-AFLP clones and 810 cDNA library clones from seven individual <it>E. grandis </it>trees onto silanised slides. The results revealed that 32% of the spotted fragments showed distinct expression patterns (with a fold change of at least 1.4 or -1.4 and a p value of 0.01) could be grouped into clusters representing co-expressed genes. Evaluation of the binary distribution of cDNA-AFLP fragments on the array showed that the individual genotypes could be discriminated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A simple, yet general method was developed for genotyping and expression profiling of wood-forming tissue of <it>E. grandis </it>trees differing in their splitting characteristics and in their lignin contents. Evaluation of gene expression profiles and the binary distribution of cDNA-AFLP fragments on the chip suggest that the prototype chip developed could be useful for transcript profiling and for the identification of Eucalyptus trees with preferred wood quality traits in commercial breeding programmes.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1472-6750 |