Helianthus annuus Transcriptome or Gene expression. Helianthus annuus

affy_sunyfuel_drought_sunflower - Drought is the main cause or crop loss around the globe and it is expected to be more so in years to come. Helianthus genus comprises species that are able to grow in harsh environments suffering from severe water shortage. Cultivated H.annuus, i.e. sunflower, is a highly valuable oil crop due to, among other features, its ability to grow under low input conditions. The aim of our project is to unravel the transcriptional regulation underpinning drought tolerance in sunflower, with the ultimate goal of improving crop yield. Ninety six individual pots were arranged in six blocks of 16 plants each, which were sown in individual pots. Each block contained 2 plants of 8 different genotypes, one of which was used as control and the other one as treated plant. Plants within each block were randomly arranged. At the right developmental stage, treated plants were water-deprived and their water status was monitored as compared to the untreated control. Three out of the six blocks were harvested on a given date, so water stress among genotypes varied. The plants in the other three blocks were harvested when the treated plant reached a given water stress. Overall design: 96 arrays - SUNFLOWER; treated vs untreated comparison