Transcriptome Analysis of Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.)

Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.), in the family Caryophyllaceae, can be found in a wide range of colors and is a model system for studies of flower senescence. In addition, it is one of the most important flowers in the global floriculture industry. However, few genomics resources, such as sequences and markers are available for carnation or other members of the Caryophyllaceae. To increase our understanding of the genetic control of important characters in carnation, we generated an expressed sequence tag (EST) database for a carnation cultivar important in horticulture by high-throughput sequencing technology. The large EST database generated from the sequences is an informative resource for identifying genes involved in various biological processes in carnation and provides an EST resource for understanding the genetic diversity of this plant