1636:

Differential gene expression during the break in potato tuber dormancy

Authors:	Moon, Yong-Sun(A)Clendennen, Stephanie, K.(B)Marino-Ramirez, Leonardo(B)May, Gregory, D.(B)
Affiliations:	(A): Department of Fruit and Vegetable Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 USA. (B): Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Inc., Tower Road, Ithaca, New York 14853-1801 USA.
Presenter:	Moon, Yong-Sun , skc11@cornell.edu

During tuber dormancy, a number of physiological processes occur which result in changes in endogenous metabolites. However, little is know about the biochemical or molecular events occurring during dormancy maintenance or loss. Previous studies on dormancy in plants have indicated that the regulation of protein synthesis may play a role in the transition from a dormant to a non-dormant state. One hypothesis is that specific proteins, synthesized during the break in dormancy, degrade or inhibit other proteins or metabolites that prevent bud activation. A combination of differential screening and EST characterization was used to isolate cDNA clones that are differentially expressed before and after the break in potato tuber dormancy. Many of the differentially expressed cDNAs share sequence homology with other plant genes, while other isolates were previously uncharacterized. A total of 26 non-redundant clones were isolated; five of which were previously characterized from potato, 14 of these clones share homology with genes isolated from other organisms, and seven isolates do not share significant homology with previously characterized genes. Northern analyses of RNA from dormant, non-dormant, and sprouting tubers indicate that many of the cDNA isolates represent transcripts that are differentially expressed during loss of tuber dormancy.