Poster: Hormones

Abs # 561: Phage display for plant cDNA: partner searching.

Presenter:	Henderson, Janey , J.Henderson@coventry.ac.uk
Authors	Henderson, Janey  (A)   Bell, Matthew J  (A) (B)  Napier, Richard M  (B)   Marshall, Jackie  (B)   Thompson, Andrew J  (B)
Affiliations:	(A): School of Science and the Environment, Coventry University, Coventry, UK. (B): Horticulture Research International, Wellesbourne, UK.

Phage display enables proteins to be linked directly to the encoding gene and provides a powerful method for isolating genes based on functional binding to immobilised ligands and substrates. We have produced a random-primed cDNA display library from whole Arabidopsis plants using a modified lambda vector. This allows encoded polypeptides to be displayed as fusion partners to phage head protein gpD. These libraries have been used to isolate specific genes by biopanning against immobilised antibodies and affinity selection of novel plant receptor proteins is underway. Test analogues of a plant hormone are being used to develop generic biopanning screens and secondary screens. The technique is equally applicable for finding protein-protein partners.