Analysis of gene expression in the nectarless mutant cwinv4-1

Many flowering plants attract pollinators by offering a reward of floral nectar. Remarkably, the molecular events involved in the development of nectaries, the organs that produce nectar, as well as the synthesis and secretion of nectar itself, are poorly understood. We previously identified a mutant, cwinv4-1, for the gene CELL WALL INVERTASE 4 that failed to produde nectar. This study was undertaken to understand transcriptional changes that occur in cwinv4-1 mature lateral nectaries. RNA was isolated from Stage 14-15 lateral nectaries (secretory stage) of wild-type and cwinv4-1 (mutant) Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Columbia flowers. Two biological replicates were performed for cwinv4-1 and a single biological replicate was performed for wild-type. Normalization was also performed with other pre-existing wild-type lateral nectary array data.