Xenogenomics: Genomic Bioprospecting in Indigenous and Exotic Plants Through EST Discovery, cDNA Microarray-Based Expression Profiling and Functional Genomics
2005
John, Ulrik P.(Plant Biotechnology Centre, Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics) | Spangenberg, German C.(Plant Biotechnology Centre, Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics)
To date, the overwhelming majority of genomics programs in plants have beendirected at model or crop plant species, meaning that very little of the naturallyoccurring sequence diversity found in plants is available for characterization andexploitation. In contrast, ‘xenogenomics’ refers to the discovery and functional analysisof novel genes and alleles from indigenous and exotic species, permitting bioprospectingof biodiversity using high-throughput genomics experimental approaches.Such a program has been initiated to bioprospect for genetic determinants of abioticstress tolerance in indigenous Australian flora and native Antarctic plants. Uniquelyadapted Poaceae and Fabaceae species with enhanced tolerance to salt, drought, elevatedsoil aluminium concentration, and freezing stress have been identified, basedprimarily on their eco-physiology, and have been subjected to structural and functionalgenomics analyses. For each species, EST collections have been derived fromplants subjected to appropriate abiotic stresses. Transcript profiling with spotted unigenecDNA micro-arrays has been used to identify genes that are transcriptionallymodulated in response to abiotic stress. Candidate genes identified on the basis ofsequence annotation or transcript profiling have been assayed in planta and otherin vivo systems for their capacity to confer novel phenotypes. Comparative genomicsanalysis of novel genes and alleles identified in the xenogenomics target plant specieshas subsequently been undertaken with reference to key model and crop plants.
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