Zea mays Transcriptome or Gene expression. Zea mays

Aerenchyma is a specialized tissue consisting of longitudinal gas spaces, which enables internal movement of gases (e.g., O2, CO2, ethylene and methane), in plant roots, petioles and stems. Especially, internal transport of oxygen via aerenchyma from shoots to roots is very important for adaptation or survival of plants under waterlogged condition. To identify aerenchyma formation-associated genes expressed in maize root, we used LM combined with a microarray for monitoring genes expressed in root cortical cells under three conditions: under aerobic condition and under waterlogged condition with and without pretreatment with 1-MCP, an inhibitor of ethylene perception. Overall design: For the waterlogging treatments, the primary root (but not the shoots) was waterlogged. Two and half day-old-seedlings were pre-treated with an inhibitor of ethylene perception 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP; 1 ppm) for 12 hours before the waterlogging treatment. Three-day-old seedlings were growing under aerated condition at the same time with other treatments as a control. Total RNA was extracted from root cortex cells from the segment of the primary root, 0.5 cm long: from 1.5 to 2 cm from the junction shoot-root derived from 3-days-old maize seedlings, and subjected to 44k oligo-DNA microarray (1. Aerated vs Hypoxia, 2. Hypoxia+MCP vs Hypoxia) with 3 biological replicates and color swaps.