SCAN: Gene expression analysis during P. pinaster embryo development

Abstract:

Maritime pine (Pinus pinastert) is a high-value forestry species in Portugal, occupying approximately 30% of the forest area. Pine somatic embryogenesis is both a tool for clonal propagation and an extremely useful experimental system for studying embryogenesis. The molecular and cellular mechanisms that program the series of events leading to the development of a plant embryo are not well understood. Embryogenesis is a complex process that requires regulation of genes within the embryo proper and surrounding seed tissues. The use of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system has significantly advanced our knowledge on the molecular processes critical for angiosperm embryogenesis. On the other hand, in gymnosperms still little is known about the mechanisms involved in embryo development.
Our aim is to identify and characterize genes playing an important role during early embryo development where most of the unique characteristics of gymnosperm embryogenesis are expressed. Microarrays have become an important tool for the global analysis of gene expression in several organisms, including plants. We have used a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) cDNA microarray to study global gene expression profiles in different stages of embryo development in maritime pine. As expected, a large number of genes were identified as differentially expressed. Preliminary analyses of the results allowed us to identify several gene clusters showing clearly different gene expression patterns along embryo development. The results regarding each embryo staging group will be discussed.
Additionally, results will be presented regarding the on-going characterization of two transcripts previously found to be differentially expressed during early and middle stages of embryo development in maritime pine through differential display. These genes are PpRab1 and PpAAI-LTSSI, putatively coding for a GTP-binding protein from the Rab family and for an alpha amylase inhibitor lipid transfer and seed storage protein, respectively.
 

Short CV

2001-2005 – Degree in Food Sciences by Instituto Piaget
March to December 2005 – Undergraduate student at Forest Biotech Lab
(IBET/ITQB) under the supervision of Dr. Célia Miguel
2006 – Research fellowship in FCT project at Forest Biotech Lab (IBET/ITQB)
under the supervision of Dr. Célia Miguel
Since January 2007 – PhD fellowship at Forest Biotech Lab (IBET/ITQB) under
the supervision of Dr. Célia Miguel and Dr. Sara von Arnold from SLU, Sweden