This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 134/4/1742    most recent pp.103.034330v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Web of Science (21) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Groover, A. Articles by Meilan, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Groover, A. Articles by Meilan, R. Agricola Articles by Groover, A. Articles by Meilan, R.

GENETICS, GENOMICS, AND MOLECULAR EVOLUTION

Gene and Enhancer Trap Tagging of Vascular-Expressed Genes in Poplar Trees

Institute of Forest Genetics, Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Davis, California 95616 (A.G., J.R.F.); Institute of Forest Genetics, Pacific Southwest Research Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Placerville, California 95667 (G.D.); Forest Science Department, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331 (C.M., S.S., R.M.); and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724 (R.M.)

We report a gene discovery system for poplar trees based on gene and enhancer traps. Gene and enhancer trap vectors carrying the -glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene were inserted into the poplar genome via Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation, where they reveal the expression pattern of genes at or near the insertion sites. Because GUS expression phenotypes are dominant and are scored in primary transformants, this system does not require rounds of sexual recombination, a typical barrier to developmental genetic studies in trees. Gene and enhancer trap lines defining genes expressed during primary and secondary vascular development were identified and characterized. Collectively, the vascular gene expression patterns revealed that approximately 40% of genes expressed in leaves were expressed exclusively in the veins, indicating that a large set of genes is required for vascular development and function. Also, significant overlap was found between the sets of genes responsible for development and function of secondary vascular tissues of stems and primary vascular tissues in other organs of the plant, likely reflecting the common evolutionary origin of these tissues. Chromosomal DNA flanking insertion sites was amplified by thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR and sequenced and used to identify insertion sites by reference to the nascent Populus trichocarpa genome sequence. Extension of the system was demonstrated through isolation of full-length cDNAs for five genes of interest, including a new class of vascular-expressed gene tagged by enhancer trap line cET-1-pop1-145. Poplar gene and enhancer traps provide a new resource that allows plant biologists to directly reference the poplar genome sequence and identify novel genes of interest in forest biology.

Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.103.034330.

^* Corresponding author; e-mail agroover{at}fs.fed.us; fax 530–758–1070.

Received October 6, 2003; returned for revision January 1, 2004; accepted January 4, 2004.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Baucher, M. El Jaziri, and O. Vandeputte From primary to secondary growth: origin and development of the vascular system J. Exp. Bot., October 1, 2007; 58(13): 3485 - 3501. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]