Transcript Profiling of the Aerobic and Anoxic Rice Coleoptile

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) seeds can germinate in complete absence of oxygen. Under anoxia, the rice coleoptile elongates, reaching a length greater than that of the aerobic one. In this series, we compare the transcriptome of rice coleoptiles grown under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Lasanthi-Kudahettige, R, et. al. Plant Physiology (2007). Transcript Profiling of the Anoxic Rice Coleoptile. Keywords: stress response Rice seeds were germinated in the dark, at 28°C for four days. The coleoptiles were surgically dissected, the primary leaf was removed from the aerobic coleoptiles (anoxic coleoptiles do not contain the primary leaf), RNA was extracted and used for the microarray experiment. An enclosed anaerobic work station (Anaerobic System model 1025; Forma Scientific, Marietta, OH) was used to provide an oxygen-free (anoxia)environment for seed germination. This chamber uses palladium catalyst wafers and desiccant wafers to maintain strict anaerobiosis to less than 10 µg mL–1 O2 (according to the specifications provided by the manufacturer). High-purity N2 was used for purging the chamber initially and the working anaerobic gas mixture was N2:H2 proportioned at 90:10.