A transcript profile of Medicago truncatula root meristem cells

The root apical meristems (RAM) is established during embryogenesis and serves as a source of stem cells for plant growth and organogenesis. Young roots have a simple structure and meristeamtic and non-meristematic cells can be differentiated based on their location. We have used the Affymetrix Medicago Genome Array GeneChip to compare tissue from the root meristem and non-meristematic tissue to identify meristem specific candidate genes based on changes in gene expression before and after differentiation Keywords: Cell type comparison Roots were sectioned separating meristematic (root-tip) and non-meristematic root tissue; total RNA was extracted and used for hybridization to Affymetrix arrays