AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

RNA-SEQ driven analysis of seasonal gene expression variation in miscanthus ?? giganteus

by Adam Barling




Institution: University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign
Department:
Year: 2014
Keywords: Ribonucleic Acid Sequencing (RNA-Seq)
Record ID: 2051514
Full text PDF: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/46926


Abstract

Miscanthus ?? giganteus is a C4 grass that has generated a large amount of interest as a potential biofuel crop due to its high level of biomass production, its perenniality, and its sterility. In this study, two separate M. ?? giganteus RNA-Seq datasets were generated to help explore the characteristics of M. ?? giganteus at the level of gene expression: a ten-tissue dataset suitable for examining genes with tissue-preferred expression, and a twenty-four sample dataset for examining the changes in gene expression that occur over the growing season. Aided by these datasets, aspects and potential mediators of M. ?? giganteus??? seasonal developmental cycle and changes in the utilization, storage, and long-distance mobilization and remobilization of the essential nutrient nitrogen have been studied. These RNA-Seq datasets have been verified with RT-qPCR and compared to amino acid and elemental concentration profiles; as a result, many seasonal changes in gene expression corresponding to the growth and development of M. ?? giganteus have been documented in order to better define the traits that make this crop such an outstanding biofuel candidate.