conference schedule and program with abstracts - Horticulture ...

O-25
A gene expression map of Vitis vinifera ‘Corvina’ development
M. Fasoli, S. Zenoni, S. Dal Santo, P. Tononi, M. Delledonne, M. Pezzotti*
Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
*Corresponding author: mario.pezzotti@univr.it
Transcriptional programs are important in the development of multicellular organisms. In
contrast to most animals, plants develop continuously, with new organs being initiated and
elaborated throughout the life cycle of the organism. As a consequence, individuals consist of
repeated units, which are present in many developmental stages at any given time of the life
cycle. It follows that many transcriptional programs underlying the development of different
organ systems are continuously active. We analyzed global gene expression during development
of the plant Vitis vinifera ‘Corvina’ in samples covering many stages and different organs.
Sampling entailed the collection of 18 organs, split in different stages of development. The bud
was collected in four stages, from dormancy to bud burst. The prompt bud splits into three lateral
buds to form leaves together with either a tendril or inflorescence. These organs were collected
in three stages of development for leaves and tendrils, and four for inflorescences. The flowers
were split into anthers, pollen, ovaries, petals and sepals. Berries were sampled during five stages
of development. After harvest, when berries undergo withering, sampling was carried out after
the first, second and third months of this withering phase. Of the differently developed berries,
multiple tissues were extracted (skin, flesh and seed) to further investigate the features of this
organ. The rachis was also collected in the same five stages of berry development. Stems were
picked in two phases, the green and woody stages of the cane. Furthermore, tissues were
collected in order to consider the in vitro condition of the root culture and seedling phase of the
‘Corvina’ cultivar. Including all biological replicates, this project entailed the hybridization of
about 168 samples. We used NimbleGen 12x135K arrays, which contain 12 x 135,000 probe sets
and enable us to hybridize up to 12 independent samples on a single slide. The aim of the project
is to observe the expression levels of transcriptional factor genes and signal transduction
components, comparing them with those of metabolic genes. Moreover, it will explain if
specialized expression patterns could be caused by preferential use of entire gene families in
specific developmental processes or tissue-specific responses to the environment.
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