Transcriptional profiling of Triticea seed and vegetative tissues

Despite their importance, there remains to be few large scale expression-based studies of tissue-specific expression information in the species belonging to the Triticeae. We used the 55K Affymetrix GeneChip® Wheat Genome Array to generate a gene expression atlas of triticale tissues. The global transcriptional profiles of seed tissues (embryo, endosperm, crease, pericarp and epiderm) and vegetative tissues (root, coleoptile, stem and leaf) were analyzed and co-regulated as well as preferentially expressed genes were identified. Data analysis revealed both novel and conserved regulatory factors underlying Triticeae tissue development and function. Triticale seed (embryo, endosperm, crease, pericarp and epiderm) and vegetative tissues (root, coleoptile, leaf and stem) were collected and analyzed using the 55K Affymetrix Wheat Genome array. All seed tissues were collected at the soft dough stage of seed development. Vegetative tissues were collected at multiple stages of development. Root and coleoptile tissues were collected at early development (Zadoks' stage 7), and leaf tissue was collected at five successive stages ranging from seedling to late senescence and stem tissue was collected at four successive stages stages ranging from initial tillering to early senescence. Between two to five biological replicates for each tissue were analyzed.