Plant, Animal & Microbe Genomes X Conference

January 12-16, 2002
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

Poster: Genome Sequencing & ESTs
            

THE UK'S PUBLIC WHEAT TRANSCRIPTOME PROJECT - A PHOTOGRAPHIC RESOURCE FOR STAGING GRAIN DEVELOPMENT

¹ IACR-Long Ashton Research Station, Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bristol, BS41 9AF, UK.

² School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UG, UK.

The BBSRC Investigating Gene Function (IGF) cereal transcriptome program (www.cerealsdb.uk.net) is producing a number of high quality cDNA libraries corresponding to various stages of wheat (var. Mercia) grain and plant development. ESTs from 40,000 clones will be sequenced and used to produce a high-density microarrayed unigene set which will be made available to cereal researchers at cost price. An important part of this project has involved sampling different tissues from grains at developmental stages ranging from as early as 24 hours post anthesis through to grain dry down at 40 days post anthesis. Samples obtained include embryo, endosperm, aleurone layer, ventral groove and maternal tissue. This valuable resource has been recorded as a unique set of digital photographs and includes microscopic pictures covering a wide range of grain development with different sections at various magnifications and stained with different dyes. Photographs of developing whole grains, with long and transverse sections and front and rear views have also been produced. Combined, these pictures clearly show the changes at the cellular and tissue level that occur during grain development and have been invaluable in staging material for the production of cDNA libraries within the program. Examples of these unique photographs will be presented.